Vincent Nichols


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

(1945-11-08) 8 November 1945
Crosby, Lancashire, England
NationalityBritish
DenominationCatholic Church
ResidenceArchbishop's House, Ambrosden Avenue, London
ParentsHenry and Mary (née Russell) Nichols
MottoFortis ut Mors Dilectio (Love Is Strong As Death)
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

Vincent Gerard Nichols (born 8 November 1945) is an English Catholic prelate who has served as Archbishop of Westminster since 2009. He was the Archbishop of Birmingham from 2000 to 2009 and is president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales. He was made a cardinal in 2014.

On 8 November 2020, Nichols offered his customary resignation to Pope Francis on his 75th birthday. However, the Pontiff asked him to remain on as archbishop until the appointment of a successor. He participated in the 2025 papal conclave that elected Pope Leo XIV, describing the experience as "immensely peaceful".

The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse has criticised Nichols for claims of lack of personal responsibility, of compassion towards victims and for allegedly prioritizing the reputation of the Church above the suffering of victims. In response, an ecclesiastical spokesperson declared that Nichols would not be resigning his cardinalate following the inquiry's criticisms, as he was "determined to put it right".