Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley's newly named successor as archbishop of Boston said at a press conference Aug. 5 that he is "humbled by the size and history of this archdiocese."
"I'm very well aware that I have a lot to learn," Archbishop Richard G. Henning, 59, said a few hours after his appointment by Pope Francis to be Boston's new shepherd was announced. The press conference was held jointly with the cardinal and was a chance for the archbishop to formally greet Boston's clergy, religious and faithful, as well as "all men and women of goodwill."
"I'll be eager for your witness of faith and to learn your wisdom. I think my first job, really, is just to be a listener and begin to understand," said the prelate, who had headed the Diocese of Providence, Rhode Island, since May 2023. In November 2022, he was appointed coadjutor bishop of Providence and immediately succeeded Bishop Thomas J. Tobin when he retired as head of the diocese May 1, 2023.
Archbishop Henning was born in Rockville Centre, New York. He attended a Marianist high school on Long Island and received a master's degree in history from St. John's University. He trained for the priesthood at Immaculate Conception Seminary in Huntington, New York, and was ordained in 1992. He taught at the seminary for over a decade and became its leader in 2012.
He also has a licentiate in biblical theology from The Catholic University of America in Washington and a doctorate in biblical theology from the University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome.
Speaking to the press, Cardinal O'Malley touted his successor's academic background and his fluency in Spanish, a link to the archdiocese's large Hispanic community. Archbishop Henning said he is also learning Portuguese.
"You will find that our priests, religious, deacons, and laity … love serving Christ, and they will support you, and assist you, and pray for you," the cardinal said.
Cardinal O'Malley pointed out that Boston has the highest percentage of young adults of any major city in the U.S.
"This brings a great challenge, and also a great opportunity for our Catholic community," he said.
The cardinal, who celebrated his 80th birthday on June 29 and has headed the Boston Archdiocese since July 2003, sees Archbishop Henning as a "sign of hope" for the archdiocese, alongside the 11 priests ordained this year and the 18 men entering Boston's seminaries this fall.
"The arrival of a new archbishop is always a time of renewal to the people in the archdiocese," he said.
On Aug. 2, Cardinal O'Malley celebrated the 40th anniversary of his episcopate. In that time, he said, the church has had to face many challenges, particularly the clergy sexual abuse crisis and the secularization of society at large.
"Despite all of the challenges that we have, I am filled with hope," he said. "I see the faith of people, and I see people come forward to be a part of the mission of the church and stay with the church."
Both Cardinal O'Malley and Archbishop Henning said that throughout the upheavals of the last decades, they have put their trust in God. Archbishop Henning said that in a culture that has "lost its way," the Catholic Church can provide answers.
"People are searching, and they don't even know what to look for," he said. "I think the church has something to offer the wider culture. … There's a wisdom and compassion and commitment to community there that I hope can be meaningful to all of the people of the city, not just the Catholic faith."
In 2018, then-Msgr. Henning was named an auxiliary bishop of Rockville Centre, where he served as regional vicar and vicar for clergy and pastoral planning. The diocese filed for bankruptcy in 2020, facing 200 lawsuits from victims of clergy sexual abuse. Archbishop Henning said that he is willing to listen to the "woundedness" of survivors who have left the church due to abuse.
"I understand why they're scandalized," he said. "It's scandalous, and it has certainly been painful for me over the course of my life, but it has not made me lose my faith in God, or my faith in the possibility of reconciliation and life, even in the midst of what may feel devastating."
"I do feel a special tug in my heart today for my beloved Rhode Islanders," he said. "This has been an extraordinary year with them. I've only been with them for a brief time, but it's been a very intense and joyful time. So, I will miss the State of Hope and its really good people."
Archbishop Henning will be installed at a Mass at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston Oct. 31.
The time between the announcement and the installation will give Archbishop Henning time to learn about the challenges facing the archdiocese, particularly the humanitarian crisis of migrants coming to the Boston area in unprecedented numbers. Catholic Charities Boston has been providing shelter and other services to migrants, and the archdiocese has been working closely with Gov. Maura Healey’s administration on the issue.
"Certainly, problems with immigration are very, very serious," Cardinal O'Malley said. "The (U.S) bishops' conference continues to advocate for immigration reform. Our system is broken, and unfortunately, it is causing so much anti-immigrant sentiment."
Archbishop Henning agreed with the cardinal's remarks.
"We are not always so much about the policy questions or programs, but the Catholic Church and its compassionate outreach really included persons," he said. "For us, the question always comes down to the person, our reverence for the human person."
The archbishop said does not consider himself an activist.
"My stance in Providence has been that I'm a pastor and not a politician," he said.
The clergy comment on public policy when it relates to church teaching, he said, but it is not the church's job to comment on candidates.
"What I want to do is help the Catholics, the faithful of this archdiocese, form their conscience," he said. "And I certainly have opinions. I will vote, as an American citizen. I will never tell you for whom I vote. I don't belong to a party. That's not my job, to advocate for either side."
As a bishop, he is pro-life, but said he understands that "people of goodwill" disagree with him about abortion.
"We have to take the risk of dialogue," he said. "We have to try to listen and hear each other."
When asked about his legacy as archbishop of Boston, Cardinal O'Malley said that he has not been thinking about it.
"If there's any legacy," he said, "it's the work of a community of people who love the church, love the people of Christ, and want to be a part of the mission that is entrusted to them."
After Archbishop Henning succeeds him, Cardinal O'Malley said he plans to divide his time between Boston and Washington. He added that Pope Francis has asked him to continue serving as president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, a body created by the pope to fight pedophilia by priests that the Boston prelate has led since 2014.
Archbishop Henning asked for the faithful to pray for him in the coming months.
"I was deeply shocked and surprised by this call," he said. "But I know the goodness of God suffices. And all things, I will trust in him. God bless the Archdiocese of Boston."
Prior to the press conference, at Archbishop Henning’s suggestion, he and Cardinal O'Malley celebrated Mass together in the Bethany Chapel of the archdiocese's Pastoral Center.
In his homily, the cardinal told his successor his new job “will bring many challenges, I promise you that, but also many, many joys."
"For us as Catholics, the office of bishop is very important," the cardinal said. "Not because of the individual, not because of Sean O'Malley or Richard Henning, but because this is the way that the Good Shepherd continues to give us those gifts in the church. … In this Eucharist, we welcome and assure him of our prayers as he's poised to take on this new ministry."
"I will look forward very much to getting to know you and your families," the archbishop-elect said to the assembly at the conclusion of the Mass, "and joining together in that great mission of proclaiming the Lord, his Gospel, and his Eucharist."
