Diocese of Joliet Bishop Ronald Hicks was installed as archbishop of New York on Friday, while his local successor remains a mystery.

As to who is now running the Joliet diocese, officials would not say.

Diocese officials would not comment on the transition process, referring questions on what will happen to a page on the website for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops website, while describing the process for replacing bishops, does not say who runs a diocese after a bishop leaves and before a new bishop is appointed.

The Joliet diocese website, as of Friday, listed Hicks as the bishop, even though he is gone and has become the celebrated archbishop of New York.

Hicks ascendance to the archbishop of New York has received notable media attention. Hicks did not make himself available to local media interviews while he was bishop in Joliet, and the diocese’s silence on the transition process reflects the general inaccessibility of diocese officials while Hicks was bishop in Joliet.

Previous bishops and high-ranking diocese officials did make themselves available for media interviews.

The diocese does have an auxiliary bishop, Dennis Spies, who presumably would be available to serve as interim chief administrator. But the diocese would not clarify Spies’ role during the transition process.

Instead, diocese spokesman Ed Duffy only would refer to the website for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which provides a general outline for the replacement of bishops.

“It often takes six to eight months – and sometimes longer – from the time a diocese becomes vacant until a new bishop is appointed,“ the website states.

The website also provides various details on the process for replacing a bishop but does not say who steps in to run the diocese during the transition process.

Duffy and another official at the Diocese of Joliet’s office for media inquiries did not respond Friday to emails for information on who is at the helm with Hicks gone. Both were out of the office.

In previous requests by Shaw Local, Duffy would only refer to the website page for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops when asked about the transition process.

The Diocese of Joliet serves DuPage, Ford, Grundy, Iroquois, Kankakee, Kendall and Will counties.