FAITH SNUB: NYC Mayor Mamdani Breaks Century-Old Tradition, Skips Archbishop Installation

New York City — In what critics are calling a jaw-dropping break with tradition, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is under fire this week after blowing off the installation of the new Archbishop of New York at St. Patrick’s Cathedral — a ceremony every sitting mayor has attended for nearly a century.

Archbishop Ronald Hicks, who on Feb. 6 was officially installed as the 11th archbishop of the Archdiocese of New York — home to some 2½ million Catholics — did so in a historic, deeply symbolic ceremony steeped in tradition. But when it came time for the mayor’s appearance, Mamdani was nowhere to be seen.

Instead of honoring a revered institution that’s been part of the city’s civic fabric since Cardinal Spellman’s tenure in 1939, Mamdani opted for an interfaith breakfast earlier that morning — and a brief social-media post congratulating the new archbishop. His office claimed a “scheduling conflict,” despite public records showing open hours before and after the Mass.

That excuse hasn’t landed well with conservatives, faith leaders, or longtime New Yorkers.

"Mamdani has been in office just over a month, and already he is signaling to Catholics that they are not welcome," blasted The Catholic League, pointing out that Mamdani could easily have walked up Fifth Avenue from the breakfast to the cathedral.

Even seasoned political operatives agree. One former adviser to ex-Mayor Michael Bloomberg called the absence a “missed opportunity for the mayor to show he wants to serve all segments of the city.”

And the criticism hasn’t stopped there. One onetime spokesman for former Mayor Rudy Giuliani didn’t mince words: “I thought Mamdani only disdains Jews who like Israel. Turns out he also disdains Italian, Irish, and other Catholic New Yorkers.”

For millions of Catholics — and voters of all stripes who prize respect for civic ritual — this isn’t a trivial scheduling mistake. It’s a glaring symbol of an administration perceived as ideologically rigid and out of step with longstanding traditions that bind the city’s diverse communities together.

In a city already bracing for budget battles, rising crime, and sobering shifts in demographics, Mamdani’s decision to skip one of the year’s most important religious events may resonate far beyond Fifth Avenue — fueling questions about whose traditions count, and whose don’t, in a city once built on unity through diversity.