Monsignor Timothy Dolan is next N.Y. archbishop

NEW YORK — Milwaukee Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan, a defender of Roman Catholic orthodoxy who led an elite seminary for U.S. priests and became known for his energy, wit and warmth, was named archbishop of New York on Monday.

The Vatican said Dolan would succeed Cardinal Edward Egan, 76, who is retiring as archbishop after nearly nine years.

The post is the most prominent in the American Catholic Church. Pope John Paul II once called the job "archbishop of the capital of the world."

In statements issued by the archdioceses, Dolan said he was "deeply honored" and "grateful for the confidence of Pope Benedict XVI," but is sad about leaving Milwaukee.

To New York's faithful, he said in a statement: "I pledge to you my love, my life, my heart."

As New York archbishop, Dolan is expected to be elevated to cardinal eventually. Egan remains a cardinal, despite his retirement as New York's Catholic leader.

The New York Archdiocese is the second-largest in the U.S., behind Los Angeles, serving 2.5 million parishioners in nearly 400 churches. It covers a region from Manhattan to the Catskill mountains, and includes a network of 10 colleges and universities, hundreds of schools and social service agencies, and nine hospitals that treat about 1 million people annually.

As New York archbishop, Dolan is expected to be elevated to cardinal eventually. Egan remains a cardinal, despite his retirement as New York's Catholic leader.

Dolan's selection continues a chain of Irish-American bishops that was broken only once in the history of the archdiocese, when French-born prelate John Dubois was appointed in 1826.

Yet, Dolan, 59, takes over at a time of growing diversity in the local church, with a sizable and expanding Latino population in the New York-area. He speaks Spanish, among other languages, and can preach and celebrate the sacraments in Spanish.

The Rev. David O'Connell, president of The Catholic University of America, where Dolan had earned his doctorate in church history, said Dolan's "personal warmth" and "great sense of humor" helped make him "perfectly suited" for New York.

Michael Sean Winters, author of "Left at The Altar: How the Democrats Lost the Catholics," first met Dolan when the clergyman was rector of the North American College in Rome, considered the West Point for U.S. priests. Dolan had studied there for his own ordination years earlier.