Page 3 Profile: Vincent Nichols, archbishop of westminster

Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster (Getty)

Hats off to the Archbishop

Or on, in this case. Archbishop Vincent Nichols will soon be donning the red galero after Pope Francis announced yesterday that he will be among 19 senior clerics from around the world to be created Cardinal. The ceremony takes place on 22 February at the Feast of St Peter.

The most senior position in the clergy. How did he react?

Archbishop Nichols said he was “deeply moved” by the appointment. “This is a humbling moment when I am asked to take a place in this service of the Holy See and in the line of much-loved Cardinal Archbishops of Westminster. I ask for the prayers of all people of faith that I may fulfil them with energy and devotion.”

So it’s a bit of a tradition?

Yes, Archbishop Nichols is the 11th Archbishop of Westminster to be appointed a Cardinal. He will be instated alongside Catholic clergymen from all over the world, including Archbishop Pietro Parolin, from Italy, who is also the Vatican’s Secretary of State.

What are Archbishop Nichols’ ecclesiastical qualifications?

Born in Liverpool, he was ordained in 1969; in 1984 he was appointed general secretary of the Bishops’ Conference in England and Wales, before being named Archbishop of Birmingham in 2000. He took up his current post in 2009.