Boston-area Catholics got their first look at their new archbishop – the region’s seventh – on Monday when the Most Rev. Richard G. Henning, the 59-year-old bishop of Providence, joined retiring Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley, 80, at an introductory press conference at the church’s pastoral center in Braintree.

Sitting next to O’Malley, Henning described himself as “a sinner in need of grace” who was “deeply shocked and surprised by this call.” He added that his first task was “to be a listener.”

He will be installed formally on Thurs., Oct. 31, at Holy Cross Cathedral in Boston.

O’Malley, a member of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin who served as archbishop for 21 years, said he plans to split his time between Boston and Washington, D.C., where the order has a monastery.