Archbishop Timothy Dolan may be a gentle enforcer of conservative Vatican teaching – but he has a delightful fun streak that hit New York yesterday like a breath of fresh air.
The next archbishop, who’ll succeed Edward Cardinal Egan, gave the city a charming and warm welcome yesterday, chatting easily about baseball, street-vendor hot dogs and his proud Irish heritage.
“I’m going to look forward to being part of everything in New York,” a beaming Dolan, 59, told reporters at Manhattan’s Catholic Center.
“You’ve made me feel at home in New York already.”
Just hours earlier, the Vatican formally announced his appointment by Pope Benedict XVI as the new head of the Archdiocese of New York.
“I relish the blessing of spending the rest of my life” in the city, said Dolan, who currently heads the Milwaukee Archdiocese and who will be installed in his new post on April 15 at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
Dolan stood near Egan, who, at 77, is retiring after nine years in charge of the archdiocese, considered to be the most prestigious job in the American Catholic Church.
“The Holy Father has chosen well,” Egan said.
Later, before celebrating Mass at St. Joseph’s Seminary in Yonkers, Dolan said President Obama had phoned him.
“He said, ‘I just wanted to call and congratulate you and assure you of my prayers.’ And I said, ‘Thank you, Mr. President. I need those prayers.’ ”
“Well, I need yours, too,” Obama responded.
“He said, ‘You know, we’re in kind of a tight financial situation,’ ” Dolan recalled. “And I said, ‘If we can have a second collection or something, let us know.’ It was a remarkably pleasant and enjoyable and friendly call.”
Dolan’s appointment, which had been rumored for weeks, came two years after Egan submitted his resignation to Pope Benedict, a requirement for bishops reaching age 75.
Like Egan, Dolan is considered a conservative when it comes to church teachings. And, like Egan – and all but one of his 12 predecessors in the New York Archdiocese – Dolan is of Irish descent.
“That’s a sign of the Holy Father’s infallibility, don’t you think?” Dolan quipped.
The gregarious church leader provides a striking contrast to Egan, who’s noted for his formal demeanor and imperious manner.
Egan has been known to summon priests he views as disobedient to his residence for a severe tongue lashing – in one instance, luring a TriBeCa pastor there so he could inform the cleric the doors to his church were being padlocked. Dolan, on the other hand, is known to share a beer or whiskey with his priests.
Some church watchers say Dolan’s style evokes that of Egan’s predecessor, the beloved, late John Cardinal O’Connor.
Warming up to his soon-to-be headquarters, Dolan noted he was “happy to see there was one of those hot-dog carts right outside” the archdiocese’s Catholic Center.
“The happiest year of my life, folks, as a kid was when I was 11 years old, in 1961, following Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle,” he said, referring to the two Yankees’ epic home-run race that season.
“The second happiest memory – maybe I shouldn’t say this – was in 1964, when the St. Louis Cardinals beat the New York Yankees in seven games in the World Series. Those days are over, OK? I will now become a Yankee fan.”
Dolan bounded up the altar steps at St. Patrick’s yesterday morning, where he concelebrated Mass with Egan.
“He seems friendly, he’s always smiling, he seems so happy,” said worshipper Maria Venadas, 52, of Nutley, NJ.
Additional reporting by Aliyah Shahid