Pope Leo has appointed Bishop Richard Moth as the 12th Archbishop of Westminster, making him the new leader of Catholics in England and Wales.
Bishop Moth, the Bishop of Arundel and Brighton since 2015, replaces retiring Cardinal Vincent Nichols.
His installation at Westminster Cathedral will be on 14 February.
“I am moved greatly by the trust that Pope Leo has placed in me, in appointing me to the Diocese of Westminster,” Archbishop-elect Moth said.
“As I prepare to move to the diocese, I am so grateful for the support being given to me by Cardinal Vincent Nichols at this time. He has given dedicated service to the diocese and will be missed greatly.”
He continued: “Serving the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton has given me the wonderful opportunity of sharing the Church’s mission with lay faithful and clergy, and I give thanks for the many blessings of these last 10 years.
“My first task will be to get to know the priests and people of Westminster and I look forward now to serving them. With them, and building on the firm foundations that have been laid by so many down the years, I look forward to continuing the great adventure that is the life of the Church and witness to the Gospel.”
Cardinal Nichols, from Liverpool, turned 80 in November.
He had offered his resignation as is usual when cardinals reach the age of 75, but said the late Pope Francis had asked him to stay in office at that point.
He came in for criticism around that time over a damning report into child sex abuse allegations.
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) report into the Catholic Church, published in November 2020, found Cardinal Nichols “seemingly put the reputation of the church” above his duty to sex assault victims.
It added that he had demonstrated “no acknowledgement of any personal responsibility to lead or influence change”.
The report findings were met with calls for Cardinal Nichols to resign.
Asked at the time if he was the right person to lead the Church in England and Wales, despite the report’s findings, Cardinal Nichols said: “I do what I’m told. The Holy Father put me here and he tells me to stay here – that’s enough for me.”
The report found that the Church repeatedly failed to support victims and survivors while taking positive action to protect alleged perpetrators, including moving them to different parishes.
Cardinal Nichols took part in his first conclave in Rome earlier this year to elect the Catholic Church’s new Pope Leo, following the death of Pope Francis.
Cardinal Nichols, who said he had known the new pontiff for a few years, paid tribute to Leo as a gentle and calm person and said he would be a decisive figure going forward for the Church, as someone able to resolve difficulties “in a way that didn’t leave enemies behind him”.
In a statement on Friday, Cardinal Nichols said he was “delighted” at news of Bishop Moth as his replacement.
He said the archbishop-elect would “bring to our diocese many gifts and considerable episcopal experience from his years of ministry”.
Archbishop-elect Moth was the Catholic Bishop of the Forces from 2009 until 2015.
Born in Zambia, in 1958, he was brought up in Kent and was ordained a priest in June 1982.
Currently chair of governors at St Mary’s University in Twickenham and chairman of the department for social justice of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales as well as liaison bishop for prisons, he is said to enjoy horse riding and walking in his spare time.
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