Vincent Nichols

His Eminence

Vincent Nichols
Cardinal, Archbishop of Westminster
President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales
Archbishop Nichols in 2012
ChurchCatholic Church
ProvinceWestminster
DioceseWestminster
Appointed3 April 2009
Installed21 May 2009
PredecessorCormac Murphy-O'Connor
Other post(s)
Previous post(s)
Orders
Ordination21 December 1969
Consecration24 January 1992
by Basil Cardinal Hume
Created cardinal22 February 2014
by Pope Francis
RankCardinal-Priest
Personal details
Born
Vincent Gerard Nichols

(1945-11-08) 8 November 1945 (age 78)
Crosby, Lancashire, England
NationalityEnglish
DenominationCatholic
ResidenceArchbishop's House, Ambrosden Avenue, London
ParentsHenry and Mary (née Russell) Nichols
MottoFortis ut Mors Dilectio (Love Is Strong As Death)
Coat of armsVincent Nichols's coat of arms
Styles of
Vincent Nichols
Reference styleHis Eminence
Spoken styleYour Eminence or Cardinal
Informal styleCardinal
Ordination history of
Vincent Nichols
History
Priestly ordination
Date21 December 1969
Episcopal consecration
Principal consecratorBasil Hume
Co-consecratorsDerek John Worlock,
Alan Charles Clark
Date24 January 1992
PlaceWestminster Cathedral
Cardinalate
Elevated byPope Francis
Date22 February 2014
Episcopal succession
Bishops consecrated by Vincent Nichols as principal consecrator
David Christopher McGough8 December 2005
John Sherrington14 September 2011
Nicholas Gilbert Hudson4 June 2014
Alan Williams1 July 2014
Patrick McKinney3 July 2015
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Vincent Gerard Nichols (born 8 November 1945) is a British Catholic prelate who has served as Archbishop of Westminster since 2009. He is also president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales. He previously served as Archbishop of Birmingham from 2000 to 2009. He was created cardinal in 22 February 2014.[1]

Nichols wrote to Pope Francis offering his resignation as archbishop as of his 75th birthday on 8 November 2020, as is customary; the pope asked him to stay on as archbishop until the appointment of a successor.[2]

In November 2020 the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse heavily criticised Nichols as the leader of the Catholic Church in England and Wales for lack of personal responsibility, of compassion towards victims, of the leadership expected, and for prioritising the reputation of the Church above the suffering of victims. A Church spokesperson said Nichols would not be resigning as cardinal following the inquiry's criticisms as he was "determined to put it right".[2]

  1. ^ "Archbishop of Westminster Vincent Nichols becomes Cardinal". BBC News Online. 22 February 2014. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference abuse was invoked but never defined (see the help page).