Providence Bishop Richard Henning is Pope Francis’ surprising choice to become the new archbishop of Boston, replacing the retiring Cardinal Seán O’Malley on Oct. 31.

Archbishop-elect Henning, 59, is in line to become Boston’s 10th bishop and its seventh archbishop.

Here are 11 things to know about the archbishop-elect.

1. He’s Shocked

Archbishop-elect Henning said Monday he was “deeply shocked and surprised” to get the call.

He said he has gotten three telephone calls from a papal nuncio about his status in the Church: the first in 2018 to become auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Rockville Centre, New York; the second around late 2022 to become coadjutor bishop of the Diocese of Providence, Rhode Island; and the third recently to become archbishop of Boston.

“This one was the most shocking of the three because I had only been in Providence a short time, so I guess I felt safe where I was,” he said during the introductory press conference Monday.

Cardinal O’Malley noted that he had served as bishop of Palm Beach, Florida for only eight months when he got the call to go to Boston in 2003.

2. He’s Got a Dog

Agnes, a yellow Labrador retriever, was 9 years old when the Rhode Island Catholic ran a photo of the bishop walking her in February 2023.

A spokesman for the Diocese of Providence confirmed to the Register on Monday that Bishop Henning still has his canine companion.

 

3. He’s a Scripture Scholar

After getting a bachelor’s degree in history and a master’s degree in history from St. John’s University, Bishop Henning entered the seminary.

He has a licentiate in biblical theology from The Catholic University of America and a doctorate in biblical theology from the University of St. Thomas Aquinas (widely known as the Angelicum) in Rome, according to his biography on the Diocese of Providence’s website.

He taught Scripture at the Diocese of Rockville’s former Seminary of the Immaculate Conception for 18 years before it closed in 2012.

 

4. He’s an Author

In 2008, while he was still a diocesan priest, then-Father Henning was one of three co-authors of a book titled Christ Out Hope: Benedict XVI’s Apostolic Journey to the United States and Visit to the United Nations.

It’s a coffee-table book with photos, text and commentary, according to an online description of it.

 

5. He’s the Oldest of Five Children

Bishop Henning has four younger siblings: two brothers and two sisters.

“He was always the big brother, even as a little guy,” Bishop Henning’s father told the Rhode Island Catholic.

His parents also describe him as dependable, even at a young age.

 

6. His Parents Are Living

Archbishop-elect Henning offered a shout-out to his parents, Richard and Maureen Henning, during his introductory press conference at the Archdiocese of Boston’s Pastoral Center in Braintree, Massachusetts, on Monday morning.

“My parents are watching now, I hope, if they've managed to figure out the technology,” he said.

The archbishop-elect’s father was a firefighter. His mother was a nurse.

 

7. He’s a Paddleboarder

When he was ordained a bishop in 2018, Bishop Henning said during his sermon that had been paddleboarding for 20 years.

The archbishop’s current residence next to the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in the South End of Boston is only about a mile and a half from the Charles River basin, which features a flotilla of sailboats and kayaks this time of year.

 

8. He Speaks Spanish and Italian

Bishop Henning answered one of the questions at the press conference Monday in Spanish, at length and without hesitation.

He said he’s also learning Portuguese, though it’s a work in progress.

 

9. He Attended the National Eucharistic Congress

Bishop Henning celebrated Mass at a hotel in Indianapolis for people from the Diocese of Providence who attended the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis in July.

During his sermon, he spoke about a presentation he heard from Father Mike Schmitz about how the Eucharist ought to affect how Catholics live.

Asked by the Rhode Island Catholic how the Eucharistic Congress affected him, he replied:

“Just being among people and seeing their genuine faith, it lifts me and makes me want to be a better bishop, a better man, a better Christian. It’s that sense of unity with the Lord and with each other that has been the most powerful piece for me.”

 

10. He Agrees With the Bankruptcy Filing of the Diocese of Rockville Centre

As an auxiliary bishop of Rockville Centre from 2018 to 2023, Archbishop-elect Henning said Monday, he had no role in the diocese’s decision to file for bankruptcy in October 2020 in the face of large claims by clergy-sex-abuse victims.

But Bishop Henning said he agrees with Bishop John Barres’ decision.

“Bishop Barris at the time argued — and it makes sense to me, I agree with it —  that it really was the only decision that would have allowed the diocese to meet the obligations to survivors as well as continue the mission of the Church,” Bishop Henning said.

Told by a reporter that some clergy-sex-abuse victims say the move didn’t promote transparency, Archbishop-elect Henning replied: “My understanding of the bankruptcy process is that by its nature it is transparent, meaning that the entity that goes into bankruptcy has to pretty much reveal its internal workings, its budgets, its resources, its reserves, all of that.”

The Archdiocese of Boston has not declared bankruptcy. The archdiocese raised more than $100 million to pay victims of clergy sex abuse with money from the sale in 2004 of the former archbishop’s residence and chancery and land surrounding them to nearby Boston College.

11. He Has a Message for Catholics Who Have Left the Church Over Clergy Abuse

A reporter Monday asked Bishop Henning what he would say to Catholics who have left the Church “over their disgust of the institution’s handling of the clergy-sex-abuse scandal.”

“My message to them is: I’ll listen to their pain, their woundedness,” Bishop Henning replied.

He noted that much of the abuse occurred during his formative years.

“I certainly lived through that as well. When these crimes and sins were committed, I was also a child. I’m grateful to God that I was not affected by it personally, but people in my generation were,” he said. “I think those survivors deserve a listening heart.”

He added:

“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. God is still with you. And it would be tragic for you to lose your relationship with God, the blessings that flow from that because of my actions or failures. But at the end of the day, all I can do is listen and hope and pray with the person, I think.”