President Barack Obama called to offer his prayers and congratulations to newly named New York Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan, who initially thought it was his brother playing a joke.Newsday reports that the former archbishop of Milwaukee described the call as "extraordinarily gracious" and said he invited Obama to his installation on April 15.
He said the president had told him, "I assure you of my prayers."
There was no official word from the White House on the conversation.
The new archbishop and Obama spoke briefly about the country's financial problems, Dolan said.
Dolan even managed to inject some humor into their exchange, suggesting the church hold additional collections, he said.
He said that when he received the call, he initially thought it was his brother playing a joke.
Dolan is succeeding Cardinal Edward Egan, who accompanied him to St. Joseph's Seminary, where Dolan said Vespers and had dinner with seminarians. Egan called Dolan "the hope of New York."
Pope Benedict XVI named Dolan, 59, on Monday to the influential post.
With 2.5 million parishioners, the Archdiocese of New York is the nation's second-largest, after that of Los Angeles.
Egan, 76, has led the New York archdiocese for nearly nine years.
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