New York Breaking News

NEW YORK (CBS) ― Pope Benedict XVI has named Milwaukee Archbishop Timothy Dolan as the next archbishop of New York.

The Holy See made the announcement Monday. Dolan succeeds Cardinal Edward Egan, 76, who is retiring after nine years as archbishop of New York.

Dolan delivered Holy Communion on Monday morning at St. Patrick's Cathedral, and later told reporters one of his major challenges would be to keep Catholics from leaving the church. He vowed to work to keep Catholic schools open and to be an active pastor in the community.

"I pledge my life, my heart, my soul. And I can tell you already, very sincerely, that I love you very much," Dolan said during his introductory news conference.

Cardinal Egan proudly welcomed his successor to with words of excitement and faith.

"The good Archbishop has come here to deepen our faith, to lead us in prayer, and to guide us through works of justice and compassion and peace, and I know no one that will be able to do that better than he," Egan said.

"To know you are and will be at my side is a genuine blessing for me indeed," Dolan told Egan after his introduction.

"This morning, everybody, I come before you in awe, and I admit some trepidation in knowing that I've got an awful lot to learn about you and about this dynamic local church," he added.

"And I just want you to know that I relish the blessing of spending the rest of my life and whatever years God grants me as your pastor, your neighbor, and, please God, as your friend."

The 59-year-old archbishop – the first baby-boomer in the job – is known for his affable, easy-going manner and his Irish charm, in full evidence during his introduction.

Along with that charm, Dolan's known to be a conservative hardliner, in keeping with vatican teaching. Joe Zwilling, the long-term spokesman for the the New York Archdiocese, has known Archbishop Dolan for years and says he's got his work cut out for him:

"New York is unlike anywhere else, we are such a diverse archdiocese. Not only ethnically diverse, but if you think about it the Archdiocese of New York runs from Staten Island almost up to Albany," said Zwilling. "Any archbishop will have to learn the full extent and breadth of the archdiocese."

At the 8 a.m. mass at St. Patrick's on Monday morning, some churchgoers received communion from New York's new archbishop and even received a special blessing.

"I feel like a new person. The Catholic Church is turning around, getting into a good future," said Garfield resident Kevin Matchett.

Added churchgoer Al Quinones: "I feel rejuvenated, reborn. He seems like he's good for New York. We got a new president and now a new archbishop."

Speaking part of the time in Spanish, Dolan called Latino members of the church "a gift," said he is eager to work with New York's growing Hispanic community and embraced the importance and value of immigration.

"What Lady Liberty is socially, Holy Mother church is spiritually when it comes to our beloved immigrants," he said.

The New York archbishop post is the most prominent in the American Catholic Church. Pope John Paul II called it "archbishop of the capital of the world." The archdiocese is the second-largest in the U.S., behind the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, and serves 2.5 million parishioners in nearly 400 churches.

Dolan said he was sad about leaving Milwaukee but excited to be coming to New York.

Egan welcomed Dolan at morning Mass at St. Patrick's. "I've known him many years," Egan said. "And I told him how I delighted I am to welcome this wonderful priest and bishop."

Parishioner Marian Roach was among those who attended the Mass.

"There's a fresh face, someone who will have to face the challenges we have today," she said. "It will be difficult for him. So we must have faith."

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.

Dolan joked that the long line of New York archbishops of Irish descent was "a sign of the Holy Fathers' infallibility" -- then quickly said he doubted it was a major factor in his selection. However, he added, "I'm sure looking forward to St. Patrick's Day."

Born in St. Louis, Dolan began his path to the priesthood as a boy. He attended a seminary prep school in Missouri and was ordained in 1976. In 1985, he earned a doctorate in church history from The Catholic University of America.

After working as a parish priest and professor, Dolan spent seven years as rector of the North American College in Rome, considered the West Point for U.S. priests, where he had studied for his own ordination years earlier.

He served briefly as an auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of St. Louis before his 2002 appointment to Milwaukee, which serves about 675,000 parishioners and 211 churches.

Dolan is an outspoken opponent of abortion, comparing the moral urgency of the issue to ending slavery. However, he does not deny Holy Communion to Catholic lawmakers who support abortion rights, nor does he single them out publicly.

When asked about abortion at the news conference, he said Catholics "have to speak up for the most defenseless in our society, especially when it comes to defending the culture of life."

He also fielded questions about the Vatican's relationship with the Jewish community, whose members were outraged when Pope Benedict XVI reinstated an ultraconservative bishop who questioned the extent of the Holocaust.

Dolan said he and Egan had spent about 45 minutes earlier Monday talking to Jewish and Greek Orthodox leaders, and then went on to praise the diversity of his new assignment.

"The archdiocese of New York seems to be almost a microcosm of the church universal. It also seems to be a microcosm of the world," he said. "I love that the fact that we call ourselves Catholic, which just means all-embracing."

Egan, ordained in 1957, was bishop of the Bridgeport, Conn., diocese for 12 years before Pope John Paul II appointed him to lead the New York Archdiocese in 2000. He replaced the late Cardinal John O'Connor.

Facing an annual $20 million operating deficit, Egan closed or merged about two dozen parishes as the Catholic population shifted to the suburbs, where new schools were being planned. He said he wiped out the budget shortfall.

Speaking of the city's Catholic schools, Dolan said Egan had assured him the archdiocese was "in great shape now," and added, "There's never been a real easy time for us with our noble efforts of Catholic education. ... That's part of our grit. We have to struggle for every dime we got and we got to work hard and we got to bring people together and we got to count on parents."

In the days after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Egan led worship in St. Patrick's for thousands of shaken New Yorkers. Last year, the cardinal hosted Pope Benedict XVI in his first U.S. visit as pontiff, an event marked by festive crowds.

But unlike many previous New York archbishops, Egan did not embrace the chance for a broad public role in the city.

Like his predecessors, Dolan is expected to be elevated to cardinal to reflect the importance of his new, big city post.

(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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