Hicks was introduced to his new parishioners at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Midtown Thursday morning by the outgoing Timothy Cardinal Dolan, who is retiring as Archbishop of New York after 16 years.

Hicks, the bishop of the Diocese of Joliet in Illinois, was tapped to take over for Cardinal Dolan by Pope Leo XIV — who Hicks had met before he assumed the Holy Throne in Rome and bonded over their favorite pizza pie.

“I found him to be extremely relatable,” Hicks said when asked about his relationship with the pontiff.

“And I do also like the fact that we grew up in the same area. We would have played baseball in the same parks, swimming in the same public pools — and we even share a famous pizza place that’s our favorite,” he said.

While Hicks did not reveal exactly which pizza place, Pope Leo’s favorite is reportedly Aurelio’s Pizza, which has locations all around Chicagoland. His Holiness famously has pepperoni pies shipped to the Vatican.

“Before he became Pope I had the opportunity to meet him in Chicago, actually last year in August. He spoke at one of my parishes in my diocese and gave a wonderful talk,” he recalled of their meeting.

“Afterwards he said, ‘can I just get five minutes with you?’ And that five minutes turned into about 20 minutes,” he said.

The Holy Father, born Robert Prevost, hails from the South Side of Chicago, not far from Joliet. In May, he became the first American pontiff in the 2,000-year history of the Catholic Church.

Hicks grew up in South Holland, Illinois, and was named the sixth bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Joliet by Pope Francis in 2020. He was installed at the Cathedral of St. Raymond Nonnatus two months later.

The bishop was rumored to be succeeding Dolan, who reached the church’s mandatory retirement age of 75 in February, church insiders told The Post earlier this week.

On Thursday, he said he looks forward to meeting worshippers of New York and helping them deal with the complex issues of the big city.

“I am committed to working with the great variety and diversity of faith leaders and civic leaders to keep that hope alive and to make the real promise of the golden door by acting in mutual respect and working to uphold human dignity,” he said.

“I am committed to working with the great variety and diversity of faith leaders and civic leaders to keep that hope alive and to make the real promise of the golden door by acting in mutual respect and working to uphold human dignity,” he said.

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