New York, NY —

New York's Roman Catholic Archdiocese is getting another Irish-Catholic leader. The pope has tapped 59-year-old Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of Milwaukee, to replace 76-year-old Cardinal Edward Egan, who's retiring. Dolan's selection continues a chain of Irish-American bishops that was broken only once in the history of the Archdiocese, in 1826.

Father Paul Holmes of Seton Hall University studied under Archbishop Dolan when he was the rector at the North American College in Rome. He describes Dolan as a warm, disarming and funny personality who can handle the big city.

HOLMES: I don't think he's gonna shrink from the cameras or from any of the issues that New Yorkers face, because they are the issues that people face across the nation.

Dolan says he doesn't expect to close any more schools. He says Cardinal Egan has left the archdiocese in good financial shape. He says his toughest challenge will be keeping Catholics in the pews. He'll be officially installed on April 15th.