Pope Leo replaced Cardinal Timothy Dolan as leader of the Catholic Church in New York, the Vatican announced on Thursday, sidelining a prominent U.S. Church figure in a major shake-up of the country's Catholic leadership.

Pope Leo has appointed a new archbishop of New York who has first-hand experience of countries from where millions have emigrated to the United States, signaling the potential for a more outspoken approach from bishops on immigration.

Pope Leo XIV has appointed the Rev. Manuel de Jesús Rodríguez, a native of the Dominican Republic, to succeed Bishop Gerald Barbarito.

Timothy Cardinal Dolan never backed down from a political scrap, but was quick with a kind word and a sympathetic ear — and even kept a list of people he prayed for. At 75, the retiring leader of the Archdiocese of New York leaves behind a legacy of both compassion and a firm resolve to fight for the teachings of the Catholic Church,