When the Most Rev. Richard Henning took over as bishop for the Diocese of Providence last year, many saw it as the start of a new era for the Catholic Church in Rhode Island. But now Henning is headed to Boston to become its next archbishop and try and replicate what he’s started in the Ocean State.

Henning, 59, will succeed Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley, who is a close ally of Pope Francis. 

“When I arrived in Rhode Island, I spoke about my delight in the state motto and the fact that I would now live in a state of hope,” said Henning, who first came to Providence from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre, New York, as coadjutor bishop in 2022, in a statement Monday. 

“Having now visited communities across Rhode Island, I say with great certainty that it is you, the people of this beautiful state — you are that hope! I will never cease to pray for you, and I hope for your prayers for me.“

O’Malley has led the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston since 2003.

Henning will be formally installed as Boston’s seventh archbishop on Oct. 31. Until then, he will continue to oversee church operations in Providence, said diocese spokesperson Michael Kieloch.

The appointment of Henning’s successor at the Providence Diocese is solely up to the pope. If a replacement is not named by Halloween, the diocese’s College of Consultors would select a temporary apostolic administrator, Kieloch said.

“In terms of timing and timeline, that’s completely unknown,” Kieloch said. “It’s the sole prerogative of the Holy Father.”

A church in decline

Henning took the reins of the Providence Diocese last May after the retirement of Bishop Thomas Tobin. Unlike his predecessor, who used social media to share his unapologetic stance opposing abortion and same-sex marriage, Henning did not have a personal social media account.

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During his short tenure, the now Boston archbishop-elect laid the groundwork for a more forward-thinking church in Rhode Island, Providence College Associate Professor of Theology Jim Keating said in an interview.

“He’s very impressive, it doesn’t in any way surprise me to see that the people making these decisions were not going to pass on him simply because they have just assigned him to Providence,” Keating said.

A new bishop, Keating said, can either be a manager in decline or someone who instead tries to build off the positives of the past to build up the diocese in a more evangelical way — which involves more baptisms, weddings, confirmations, and participating in the life of their parish.

“And I got the immediate impression from Bishop Henning that he was the latter,” he said. “He wanted to take a very clear-eyed view of the actual situation of New England Catholicism, which is very dire.”

Throughout the 20th century, the Catholic Church was seen as a place for many of New England’s new immigrants to find community. But after the 1970s, Keating said the dominance of the church started to erode.

“Of course, the huge crack was the Geoghan case and Cardinal (Bernard) Law’s handling of that,” he said, referring to the sexual abuse scandal surrounding a defrocked retired Boston area priest that rocked the church in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Pew Research reported in April that 20% of U.S. adults describe themselves as Catholics — down 4% from 2007. A declining population means less political swing.

“It used to be that the cardinal or archbishop would signal their opposition and legislation would die,” Keating said about Boston politics. “No one thinks about Massachusetts that way any longer.”

Still some political muscle to flex

Tobin’s hardline stances often generated outrage from liberal and left-leaning groups.

“And he would almost always dial it back,” Keating said. “Which then raised the question: Why did you say something in the first place? Or why don’t you think before you talk?”

Henning, meanwhile, tries to stay out of politics — which he made clear when he spoke before reporters at a press conference Monday morning at the Pastoral Center in Braintree, Massachusetts.

“I will admit, I don’t know that I’ve ever been an activist — I’m not that exciting,” Henning said. “My stance in Providence has been that I’m a pastor, not a politician.”

He told reporters the Catholic Church does advocate for policy positions related to church teachings. Henning did weigh in on a few issues during the Rhode Island General Assembly 2024 legislative session, joining fellow faith leaders in supporting legislation mandating the safe storage of firearms and a failed push to ban assault weapons.

But Keating said the decision to support gun control was simply the church “swimming with the stream” on what has become a more popular stance.

“When it comes to abortion or the more hot stuff, it’s harder to see,” he said of vocal stances by church leaders.

During Monday’s press conference, Henning described himself as pro-life, but said he believes “every woman should have a full choice.”

“What I want to do is to help the Catholics, the faithful of this archdiocese form their consciences,” he said. “I certainly have opinions — I will vote as an American citizen. I will never tell you for whom I vote — I don’t belong to a party — that’s not my job to advocate for either side.”

If the Catholic Church wants to regain its influence, Keating said it needs to increase the number of parishioners who both know church teachings and can think about their political action.

That doesn’t happen unless the diocese can attract new members. Historically, Keaing said New England Catholicism has mostly relied on faith being part of a tradition passed from generation to generation. That might have worked in the 20th century, but over time, the region has become much more secular.

“The church can no longer rely on inherited faith, it has to have intentional faith and personal faith,” Keating said. “How do you do that? You have something attractive to offer.”

If anyone can accomplish that feat, Keating said, it’s Henning.

“He’s been meeting with people, talking, connecting with big players and trying to figure out what the diocese’s strengths and weaknesses were,” Keating said of Henning’s tenure in Rhode Island. “He’s energized things.”