After serving for about 16 years as archbishop of Westminster, England, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, 80, is retiring, and Pope Leo XIV has appointed Bishop Charles Phillip Richard Moth, who has served as bishop of Arundel and Brighton since 2015, as his successor.
The Holy See Press Office announced Dec. 19 that Pope Leo has accepted the resignation of Cardinal Nichols, who has served as archbishop of Westminster since 2009. Cardinal Nichols is 80 years old, and it is required for all bishops and archbishops, when they turn 75, to present their letter of resignation to the pope.
Cardinal Nichols will serve as the diocese’s apostolic administrator until Archbishop-elect Moth is installed Feb. 14, 2026, according to a Diocese of Westminster press release. Archbishop-elect Moth is currently chair of governors at St. Mary’s University in Twickenham and chair of the Department for Social Justice of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, according to the release. He is also the liaison Bishop for Prisons.
Archbishop-elect Moth said in the release that after the installation ceremony his “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.”
He also said that he is deeply moved by the trust Pope Leo has placed in him as the next archbishop of Westminster. He is also grateful for Cardinal Nichols’ support.
“He has given dedicated service to the Diocese and will be missed greatly,” Archbishop-elect Moth said.
Cardinal Nichols remarked in the release that he is delighted at the appointment.
“Archbishop-elect Richard will bring to our Diocese many gifts and considerable episcopal experience from his years of ministry in the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton, and before that as Bishop of the Forces,” he said.
He added that he is looking forward to the installation ceremony for Archbishop-elect Moth, noting that the day “is, of course, St Valentine’s Day, as well as the Feast of Saints Cyril and Methodius, co-Patrons of Europe.”
Archbishop-elect Moth said that his time as bishop of Arundel and Brighton offered “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 ten years.”
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