Pope Francis has appointed Providence, R.I., Bishop Richard Henning as the archbishop of Boston as longtime Archbishop Cardinal Sean O’Malley is retiring at age 80.
The Vatican said in a statement Aug. 5 that the Holy Father had accepted Cardinal O’Malley’s resignation from the archdiocese where has served for more than 20 years.
At 80, he is five years past the age at which prelates normally tender their resignation to the Holy See; he originally submitted his resignation in 2019 but stayed in the position at the pope’s request.
Cardinal O’Malley has served as the archbishop of Boston since 2003, appointed to the post by Pope John Paul II. Home to nearly 2 million Catholics, the archbishopric is one of the most prominent roles in the U.S. church.
A noted leader in confronting clerical sex abuse in the church, Cardinal O’Malley has headed the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors as its first president since 2014. He has served as a member of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and sits on the Council of Cardinal Advisers. He participated in the 2013 conclave that elected Pope Francis; at 80 he is ineligible to participate in future conclaves.
“I have always respected and admired Cardinal O’Malley and am deeply grateful for his years of faithful witness and dedicated service as priest and bishop, which have been great gifts to the universal Church,” said Bishop Michael F. Burbidge. “His example has inspired all of us to love and serve one another, especially the poor and most vulnerable. I extend prayerful best wishes to Cardinal O’Malley and pray that God will abundantly bless him with much peace on the occasion of his retirement and always.”
Born Oct. 17, 1964, in the Diocese of Rockville Centre, N.Y., Archbishop-elect Henning studied history at St. John’s University in Queens before studying for the priesthood at the now-closed Seminary of the Immaculate Conception in Huntington, N.Y. He was ordained a priest at Rockville Centre May 30, 1992.
Prior to becoming a bishop, Archbishop-elect Henning served a variety of posts in the New York diocese including as parish vicar of St. Peter of Alcantara in Port Washington, N.Y., and as an associate professor of sacred Scripture at the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception as well as the seminary’s rector.
He also served as vicar for clergy and as vicar for parish evangelization and pastoral planning in the Rockville Centre diocese and as the diocesan episcopal vicar of the central vicariate.
He was consecrated as auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Rockville Centre July 24, 2018, and subsequently appointed as coadjutor bishop of the Diocese of Providence Nov. 23, 2022.
Upon the retirement of Providence Bishop Thomas Tobin, Henning became the ninth bishop of Providence May 1, 2023.
The prelate holds a licentiate in biblical theology from The Catholic University of America in Washington as well as a doctorate in that field from the University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome, Italy.
The Catholic Herald contributed to this story.
