Bishop Ronald Hicks recalls connecting with Pope Leo XIV while growing up in the south suburbs

On May 8, white smoke from the Vatican sent the signal to the world; it was about to meet the first American pope. 

Here in Chicago, the birthplace of Pope Leo XIV, and in his south suburban hometown of Dolton, Leo Mania took hold.

One of those already well-versed on the virtues of Father Bob Prevost was Rev. Ronald Hicks.

“I’m still wrapping my head around it,” Hicks said. “What seems impossible is possible. And, it’s just a time for great rejoicing.”

The last time I caught up with my St. Jude grade school classmate from South Holland was in 2020 when he was installed as the bishop of the Joliet diocese. Almost five years later, we reconnected to marvel at how our backyard in the south suburbs made history.

“He doesn’t seem like some figure or theory out there. But he’s a normal guy from a normal neighborhood we grew up in. For me, it makes him so relatable,” Hicks said.

Pope Leo XIV was inaugurated in a mass at Saint Peter’s. Though on much larger scale, it was a scene much like the holy rite at Saint Raymond‘s Cathedral when Bishop Hicks was installed to the leadership position in Joliet. Hicks met the then-cardinal four years later when he was giving a talk at one of his parishes.

“I attended the talk, I sat there in the front row,” Hicks recalled. “I think everyone walked away saying, I learned something tonight. I learned something about our faith. I learned something about our church. And, he did so in a way that was clear, concise. Creative and finally humble.”

The two chatted about Pope Francis, the universal church and work in his diocese. “Five minutes turned into ten, ten to 15, and 15 to 20.”

And then he asked how he was doing. That’s when he realized his skill as an orator and his passion, knowledge and intellect weren’t his only assets.

“He takes more time to listen than to talk,” Hicks said. “And, I experienced that with him.”

His down-to-earth approachability is one thing. Hicks says Leo also has a boldness that compels him to stand up for issues that impact the world:  war, poverty and immigration.

“He doesn’t back away or shy away. I think it’s significant that he took the name Leo within our tradition. It just shows that he he has a love for social justice, that peace and social justice,” Hicks said.

And he’ll do it, Hicks added, as a bridge builder.

“And then be a voice. A voice for, expressing what does the church teach and why, and, and try to do so with, with the heart of the shepherd,” Hicks said.

I asked Bishop Hicks if he sees any of himself in Pope Leo. What sort of inspiration, does he serve for him as a priest, as a bishop, as a man of God?

“I recognize a lot of similarities between him and me.  So we grew up literally in the same radius, in the same neighborhood together,” Hicks said. “We played in the same parks, went swimming in the same pools, liked the same pizza places to go to. I mean, it’s that real.”

The pope and the bishop were also both missionaries to Latin America and found their ministry early in life.

But where these South Siders diverge is what baseball team they root for. 

“[Pope Leo] is and always will be a Sox fan. And, I grew up a Cub fan,” Hicks said. “I’m a Cubs fan because my father is a diehard Cubs fan. He wanted us to know we were loved, but that we’d stay Catholic and Cubs fans. In my family, there was not getting around either of those things.”