St. Mary’s Friends, Inc., a non-profit corporation, has announced that Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York, has issued a new decree that disobeys the decision made by the Vatican earlier this year. Dolan has served as Archbishop of the Diocese of New York since 2009. Pope Leo XIV recently replaced Cardinal Dolan with Bishop Ronald Hicks of Joliet, Illinois. The change in Catholic leadership has been described as a shake-up.
St. Mary’s Church (Church of the Immaculate Conception), in Yonkers, New York, is an immigrant community, and for 175 years has always been an immigrant community. Caesar Quadra, Chairperson of St. Mary’s Parish Council, noted that “St. Mary’s is a church that helps immigrants. The focus is on providing food and clothing, and reaching out to the new influx of immigrants who are asking for help.”
The church building itself is a landmark. On July 16, 2024, the Yonkers City Council voted unanimously to grant landmark status to the church building. The Archdiocese of New York brought a lawsuit against the city of Yonkers for making St. Mary’s Church a landmark, but the suit was dismissed
Cardinal Dolan has a long, acrimonious history with St. Mary’s Church. Dolan has sought to merge Immaculate Conception Parish (known as “St. Mary’s”) with the parish of St. Peter-St. Denis in an “extinctive union,” meaning that following the merger, only one parish containing three churches existed.
The church’s parishioners, who are largely Hispanic, filed an appeal with Cardinal Dolan last year, arguing that St. Mary’s should remain an independent parish. After Cardinal Dolan rejected this appeal, these parishioners made a higher appeal to the “Dicastery for the Clergy of the Holy See,” a department of the Vatican which hears appeals against the elimination of parishes and the permanent closure of churches. The appeal made to Rome was successful—Cardinal Dolan’s decree was revoked.
It was the first time in the history of the New York Archdiocese that a decree was revoked by the Vatican. The decision also marks only the ninth time in modern American Catholic history when a decree eliminating a parish has been revoked by the Holy See.
Although the parish was restored, Dolan did not allow a pastor to be installed, or a parish administrator to be assigned. Dolan’s latest decree is almost identical to the first degree that was revoked by the Vatican. The first decree issued by Cardinal Dolan eliminated the church’s Spanish language masses, leaving only one bilingual mass that was self-initiated by the parishioners.
In his latest decree, Dolan spoke of white flight to the suburbs, “together with a substantial immigration of Hispanics.” Church attendance is at 80% capacity. St. Mary’s Church has had an increase of Hispanic parishioners. Dolan’s latest decree also eliminates the bilingual mass.
During his post as Archbishop, Cardinal Dolan has remained silent on the subject of immigration and the nation’s Hispanic population. He has made regular appearances on FOX News, but has not addressed the disrespectful ways migrants have been treated in the United States. Under the leadership of Pope Leo XIV, US bishops have been outspoken about the current plight of immigrants. Pope Leo XIV called the US’s treatment of immigrants “inhuman,” and “extremely disrespectful.” The Holy See has questioned whether current immigration policies are in line with the Catholic Church’s teachings.
It is not known if Cardinal Dolan’s final decree is valid and in accordance with Canon Law. The parishioners of St. Mary’s Church are appealing Dolan’s decree and are prepared to take their appeal to the Vatican. Bishop Ronald Hicks will officially become the Archbishop of New York on February 6, 2026.
About St. Mary’s Friends (Church of the Immaculate Conception), Yonkers, New York
St. Mary’s Friends, Inc. is a non-profit organization, formed in the State of New York. St. Mary’s Church (Church of the Immaculate Conception) is located in Yonkers, New York, and was founded in 1848. The Church is the oldest Roman Catholic Parish in the City of Yonkers and is known as the “Cathedral of the Hudson River Valley.” For more information, please see www.StMarysFriends.org.
