{{Short description|American prelate of the Catholic Church (born 1964)}} {{Infobox Christian leader | type = | honorific-prefix = His Excellency, The Most Reverend | name = Richard Henning | honorific-suffix = | title = Archbishop of Boston | image = Richard Henning 2025.jpg | image_size = | caption = Henning in 2025 | archdiocese = Boston | diocese = | appointed = August 5, 2024 | enthroned = October 31, 2024 | retired = | predecessor = Seán Patrick O'Malley | successor = | other_post = <!---------- Orders ----------> | ordination = May 30, 1992 | ordained_by = John R. McGann | consecration = July 24, 2018 | consecrated_by = John Barres, William Murphy, and Robert J. Brennan <!---------- Personal details ---------->| birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1964|10|17}} | birth_place = Rockville Centre, New York, US | death_date = | death_place = | buried = | nationality = | alma_mater = Saint John's University (B.A. 1986; M.A. 1988) <br> Seminary of the Immaculate Conception <br> The Catholic University of America (LTh, 2000) <br> Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (DTh, 2007) | previous_post = {{bulleted list | Auxiliary Bishop of Rockville Centre (2018–2022) | Coadjutor Bishop of Providence (2022–2023) | Bishop of Providence (2023–2024) }} | coat_of_arms = | motto = Put out into the deep | parents = Richard and Maureen Henning }} {{Infobox bishopstyles | name= Richard Henning | dipstyle= *His Excellency *The Most Reverend | offstyle=Your Excellency | relstyle=Archbishop | image = Coat of arms of Richard Garth Henning (Boston).svg | image_size = 200px }} '''Richard Garth Henning''' (born October 17, 1964) is an American Catholic prelate who serves as archbishop of Boston in Massachusetts since 2024. He previously served as bishop of Providence in Rhode Island from 2023 to 2024 and as an auxiliary bishop of Rockville Centre in New York State from 2018 to 2022.
==Biography==
=== Early life === Richard Garth Henning was born on October 17, 1964, in Rockville Centre, New York, growing up at Holy Name of Mary Parish and grade school. His father was a firefighter, and his mother was a nurse. Henning credits their examples of service with inspiring his own vocation.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Who is Bishop Richard Henning, the new coadjutor bishop of Providence? |url=https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/2022/11/23/richard-henning-new-providence-bishop-tobin/69673449007/ |access-date=2022-12-06 |website=The Providence Journal |language=en-US}}</ref> He graduated from Chaminade High School in Mineola, New York in 1982.<ref>{{cite news |date=June 8, 2018 |title=Graduate Appointed as Auxiliary Bishop |url=https://www.chaminade-hs.org/about/news/news-posts/~post/graduate-appointed-as-auxiliary-bishop-20180608 |accessdate=August 20, 2018 |work=Chaminade High School |archive-date=December 1, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241201005024/https://www.chaminade-hs.org/about/news/news-posts/~post/graduate-appointed-as-auxiliary-bishop-20180608 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
Henning was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree in history in 1986 and a Master of Arts degree in history from St. John's University (New York City) in 1988. After graduation, he entered the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception in Lloyd Harbor, New York for priestly formation.<ref name="usccb" /><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Rinunce e nomine |url=https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2022/11/23/0872/01829.html |access-date=2022-12-06 |website=press.vatican.va}}</ref>
=== Priesthood === On May 30, 1992, Henning was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Rockville Centre by Bishop John R. McGann at St. Agnes Cathedral.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Bishop Richard Garth Henning [Catholic-Hierarchy] |url=https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bhenning.html |access-date=2024-02-08 |website=www.catholic-hierarchy.org}}</ref> After his 1992 ordination, the diocese assigned Henning as an assistant pastor in a parish in Port Washington, New York.
In 1997, the diocese sent Henning to the Catholic University of America School of Theology in Washington, D.C., where he earned his Licentiate of Sacred Theology in biblical theology in 2000. He then spent the next two years in Rome working towards a Doctor of Theology degree in biblical theology at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, which he completed in 2007.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rinunce e nomine |url=https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2022/11/23/0872/01829.html |access-date=2024-08-25 |website=press.vatican.va}}</ref>
In 2002, Henning was appointed a professor of sacred scripture at the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception. Henning, in 2008 co-authored the book, ''Christ Our Hope: Benedict XVI’s Apostolic Journey to the United States and Visit to the United Nations''.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=2024-08-06 |title=11 Things to Know About Boston's New Archbishop-Elect Richard Henning |url=https://www.ncregister.com/news/11-things-to-know-archbishop-elect-henning |access-date=2024-12-31 |website=NCR |language=en}}</ref>
In 2012, Henning was named rector of Immaculate Conception.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Msgr. Henning Named Rector of Immaculate Conception Seminary, Director of New Institute |url=https://www.cny.org/stories/msgr-henning-named-rector-of-immaculate-conception-seminary-director-of-new-institute-,6681 |access-date=2024-08-25 |website=Catholic New York |date=14 December 2011 |language=en}}</ref> He oversaw the transition of Immaculate Conception from a seminary to hosting retreats and a formation program for the laity.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Who We Are |url=https://www.icseminary.edu/who-we-are.html |access-date=2024-08-25 |website=SEMINARY OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION |language=en}}</ref> He also served as the inaugural director of the Sacred Heart Institute for the Ongoing Formation of Clergy, located in the Immaculate Conception facility.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rinunce e nomine |url=https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2022/11/23/0872/01829.html |access-date=2024-08-25 |website=press.vatican.va}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=2011-11-11 |title=New Single Program of Priestly Formation Announced by Archdiocese of New York, Diocese of Brooklyn |url=https://archny.org/new-single-program-of-priestly-formation-announced-by-archdiocese-of-new-york-diocese-of-brooklyn/ |access-date=2024-12-31 |website=Archdiocese of New York |language=en-US}}</ref>
Bishop John O. Barres appointed Henning as vicar for pastoral planning in 2018 and vicar for clergy in Rockville Centre in 2021.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rinunce e nomine |url=https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2022/11/23/0872/01829.html |access-date=2024-08-25 |website=press.vatican.va}}</ref>
===Auxiliary bishop of Rockville Centre=== right|thumb|258x258px|Coat of arms as auxiliary bishop of Rockville Centre and as coadjutor bishop of Providence Pope Francis appointed Henning as auxiliary bishop of Rockville Centre on June 8, 2018.<ref name="usccb">{{cite news |title=Pope Francis Names New Auxiliary Bishops of Rockville Centre and Washington |url=http://www.usccb.org/news/2018/18-096.cfm |accessdate=June 8, 2018 |work=US Conference of Catholic Bishops}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.drvc.org/home/2018-press-releases/pope-francis-names-rev-msgr-richard-g-henning-as-auxiliary-bishop-of-diocese-of-rockville-centre.html |title= Pope Francis Names Rev. Msgr. Richard G. Henning as Auxiliary Bishop of Diocese of Rockville Centre |accessdate= June 8, 2018 |archive-date= June 12, 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180612143123/http://www.drvc.org/home/2018-press-releases/pope-francis-names-rev-msgr-richard-g-henning-as-auxiliary-bishop-of-diocese-of-rockville-centre.html |url-status= dead }}</ref> He was consecrated by Barres at St. Agnes Cathedral on July 24, 2018, with Bishops William Murphy and Robert J. Brennan serving as co-consecrators.<ref name=":2" />
=== Coadjutor bishop and bishop of Providence === right|thumb|258x258px|Coat of arms as bishop of Providence On November 23, 2022, Francis appointed Henning as coadjutor bishop of Providence to assist Bishop Thomas J. Tobin. He was installed on January 26, 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rinunce e nomine |url=https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2022/11/23/0872/01829.html |access-date=2022-11-23 |website=press.vatican.va}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.drvc.org/wp-content/uploads/Final_media_release_Henning_11_23_22.pdf |title=POPE FRANCIS NAMES MOST REVEREND RICHARD G. HENNING COADJUTOR BISHOP OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND |accessdate=November 23, 2022}}</ref> Henning succeeded as bishop of Providence on May 1, 2023, when Tobin retired.<ref>{{cite press release | publisher = Holy See Press Office | access-date = May 1, 2023 | date = May 1, 2023 | url = https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2023/05/01/0324/00702.html | language = it | title = Rinunce e nomine, 01.05.2023 }}</ref>
=== Archbishop of Boston === On August 5, 2024, Francis named Henning to succeed Seán Patrick O'Malley as archbishop of Boston.<ref>{{Cite press release |title= Resignations and Appointments, 05.08.2024 |url=https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2024/08/05/240805a.html |access-date=August 6, 2024|publisher= Holy See Press Office}}</ref> When asked in August 2024 about the sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic Church, Henning replied;<blockquote>“If there are Catholics who are scandalized, I understand why they’re scandalized. It’s scandalous and certainly painful for me over the course of my life. But it has not made me lose my faith in God or my faith in the possibility of reconciliation and new life, even in the midst of what may feel devastating. So I would say to them that if I have failed you, if a leader in their Church has failed you, I’m so sorry, but God has not failed you."<ref name=":3" /></blockquote>Henning was installed as archbishop in Boston on October 31, 2024.<ref>{{cite news |date=October 31, 2024 |title=Boston installs new Archbishop Richard Henning to succeed Cardinal Sean O'Malley |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/boston-archbishop-richard-henning-installation/ |access-date=October 31, 2024 |publisher=CBS News}}</ref> He is fluent in Spanish and Italian and literate in French, Greek, and Hebrew.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Most Reverend Richard G. Henning |url=https://www.drvc.org/most-reverend-richard-g-henning/ |access-date=2022-12-06 |website=The Diocese of Rockville Centre |language=en-US |archive-date=2022-12-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221206002933/https://www.drvc.org/most-reverend-richard-g-henning/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
In his first six months as archbishop, Henning said that he had "been on probably more than a dozen college campuses," and "there has been something remarkable happening among the college students" regarding their interest in Catholicism.<ref name="PillarInterview2025">{{cite web |title=Henning: 'What if I bring the Eucharist to them?' |website=The Pillar |url=https://www.pillarcatholic.com/p/henning-what-if-i-bring-the-eucharist |date=18 July 2025 }}</ref> He posited that Pope Leo XIV would be able to "receive what is happening among the youth and amplify it."
In 2025, Henning led a multi-day Eucharistic procession by boat, visiting several parish communities along the North Shore of Massachusetts Bay. Henning cited the difficulty in bringing the people of the diocese together and wanting to bring the eucharist to people as motivations for the procession. He suggested that Eucharistic devotion is one factor driving increased interest in Catholicism in the archdiocese among college students and young adults.<ref name="PillarInterview2025"/>
In June 2025, Henning received the pallium from Pope Leo XIV at a ceremony in Rome. Henning said he felt like a "deer in the headlights" as he approached Leo. He said the ceremony was a moment of being "taken possession of... by the life of the church," and that he would return to Boston with a "sense of renewal."<ref name="PilotPallium2025">{{cite web |author=Glatz, Carol |title=Full transcript of CNS interview with Archbishop Richard G. Henning of Boston |website=The Boston Pilot |publisher=Pilot Media Group |date=18 July 2025 |url=https://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.php?ID=200316 |access-date=27 July 2025}}</ref>
==Views==
=== Abortion === Regarding abortion, Henning said he opposes it because all human life is sacred.<blockquote>The question I always have to ask is, if the child in the womb is not human, then what is it?” There’s a truth here that needs space at the table, too, and for us, as Catholics, it’s really important that we keep standing up for that, and I will certainly do that.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Landeck |first=Katie |title=Who is Bishop Henning? What to know about Cardinal O'Malley's successor |url=https://www.patriotledger.com/story/news/2024/08/05/who-is-bishop-richard-henning-cardinal-sean-omalley-archdiocese-boston-providence/74671020007/ |access-date=2025-11-20 |website=The Patriot Ledger |language=en-US}}</ref> </blockquote>
=== Catholic Church === Henning, in July 2025, stated that he thinks that the Catholic Church must emphasize Christ above all else. He has expressed that he feels the Holy Spirit urging that his ministry as a bishop be Christocentric. He contrasted this with the emphasis of the Church as a "bureaucratic" institution, which he saw as making the Church into "something of a political animal."<ref name="PillarInterview2025" /> Henning attended the 2024 Eucharistic Congress, which he lauded for having "the focus of every day [be] on the Lord himself."<ref name="PillarInterview2025" />
Henning has called himself a "big fan of communion ecclesiology," describing the Catholic Church as <blockquote>a communion, but a communion forged by the Lord, and it all circles around the Son who is Christ. When we deepen our relationship with Christ, we are more perfectly bound to one another.<ref name="PillarInterview2025"/></blockquote>
=== Gun violence === In August 2025, Henning released a statement on the mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis, Minnesota, that killed two children and wound 17 other people<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |last=Post |first=Dorchester |date=2025-08-28 |title=Boston Archbishop expresses solidarity after Minneapolis Catholic school shootings {{!}} The Dorchester Post |url=https://dorchesterpost.com/2025/08/27/boston-archbishop-expresses-solidarity-after-minneapolis-catholic-school-shootings/ |access-date=2025-11-20 |language=en-US}}</ref>.<blockquote>I would like to express prayerful solidarity with the community of Annunciation Parish and school, Archbishop Hebda, and all the clergy, religious and faithful of the Archdiocese of St. Paul & Minneapolis as today they suffer the effects of cruel violence. We pray seeking healing for the wounded, strength for the bereaved, and peace for the students who died while gathered with their classmates in prayer.<ref name=":5" /></blockquote>
=== Immigration === Henning expressed his approval of the statement of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in November 2025 criticizing the policies of the Trump Administration on immigration and on the aggressive tactics being used by its agencies in enforcing these policies. Henning stated that Catholic teaching:<blockquote>“...exhorts nations to recognize the fundamental dignity of all persons, including immigrants...We bishops advocate for a meaningful reform of our nation’s immigration laws and procedures. Human dignity and national security are not in conflict.<ref>{{Cite web |title=US bishops approve ‘special pastoral message’ on immigration |url=https://www.cathstan.org/us-world/us-bishops-approve-special-pastoral-message-on-immigration |access-date=2025-11-20 |website=Catholic Standard |language=en-US}}</ref></blockquote>
=== LGBTQ === In April 2023, Henning stated that same sex marriage "doesn't work in Catholic theology." However, he added that,<blockquote>That doesn’t mean that the church hates people who have same-sex attraction. That doesn’t mean that they’re somehow evil or anything like that, right? All of us are sinners, in fact, in need of grace. I certainly am.<ref name=":4" /></blockquote>During a 2024 news conference in Providence after his appointment as archbishop of Boston, Henning stated that his views on same-sex marriage aligned completely with those expressed by Pope Francis.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Treffeisen |first=Beth |date=2024-08-05 |title=Who is Richard Henning, the new archbishop in Boston? |url=https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2024/08/05/who-is-richard-henning-the-new-archbishop-in-boston/ |access-date=2025-11-20 |website=Boston.com |language=en-US}}</ref>
==Personal life== Henning has a fondness for praying by the ocean, jokingly calling the sea coast his "happy place." He has said praying by the sea has been important in his life.<ref name="PillarInterview2025"/>
==See also== {{Div col}} * Catholic Church hierarchy * Catholic Church in the United States * Historical list of the Catholic bishops of the United States * List of Catholic bishops of the United States * Lists of patriarchs, archbishops, and bishops {{div col end}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{wikiquote|Richard Garth Henning}} {{commonscat|Richard Garth Henning}}
* [https://bostoncatholic.org/ Archdiocese of Boston Official Site] * [https://www.dioceseofprovidence.org/ Diocese of Providence Official Site] * [http://www.drvc.org/ Diocese of Rockville Centre Official Site]
{{s-start}} {{s-rel|ca}} {{succession box | title = Auxiliary Bishop of Rockville Centre | before = - | after = - | years = 2018-2022| }} {{succession box | title = Coadjutor Bishop of Providence | before = - | after = - | years = 2022-2023| }} {{succession box | title = Bishop of Providence | before = Thomas Joseph Tobin | after = Bruce Lewandowski | years = 2023-2024| }} {{succession box | title = Archbishop of Boston | before = Seán Patrick O'Malley | after = Incumbent | years = 2024-present| }} {{s-end}}
{{Portal bar|Biography|Catholicism|Massachusetts}} {{Archdiocese of Boston|state=collapsed}} {{Diocese of Providence|state=collapsed}} {{Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre|state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Henning, Richard}} Category:1964 births Category:Living people Category:People from Rockville Centre, New York Category:Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas alumni Category:Diocese of Rockville Centre Category:21st-century American Roman Catholic titular bishops Category:Bishops appointed by Pope Francis