Pope Leo on Friday appointed Bishop Richard Moth as the next Archbishop of Westminster, placing him at the head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales at a moment of shifting religious and political ties.
Moth succeeds Cardinal Vincent Nichols, who stepped down after reaching the mandatory retirement age of eighty in November, ending a sixteen year tenure in the role.
At sixty seven, Moth brings a varied pastoral background to one of the most influential Catholic posts in the country. Born in Zambia, he moved to England as a child and most recently served as Bishop of Arundel and Brighton in southern England.
He has previously led the Catholic Ordinariate for the Armed Forces and has spoken publicly about prison reform, an area where church leaders have increasingly engaged with policymakers.
In a statement released by the Vatican, Moth said he was deeply grateful for the appointment.
“I am moved greatly by the trust that Pope Leo has placed in me,” he said. “I look forward to continuing the great adventure that is the life of the Church and to bearing witness to the Gospel.”
The announcement follows a series of senior leadership changes made by the pope, including a major reshuffle of Catholic leadership in the United States earlier this week, according to Reuters.
Moth takes office as Catholicism shows renewed momentum in Britain, particularly among younger worshippers. A Bible Society and YouGov survey published this year found that Catholics now outnumber Anglicans among churchgoers aged eighteen to thirty four in England and Wales. Forty one percent identified as Catholic, compared with twenty percent who said they were Anglican, reversing trends recorded in two thousand eighteen.
The appointment also comes amid warmer relations between the Vatican and the United Kingdom. Earlier this year, King Charles and Pope Leo prayed together in the Sistine Chapel, marking the first joint act of worship between an English monarch and a Catholic pope in nearly five hundred years, according to Vatican officials.
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Meanwhile, the Church of England has also undergone historic change, naming Sarah Mullally as its first female Archbishop of Canterbury in October. The Catholic Church continues to maintain an all male clergy.
Moth is expected to formally take up his new role in the coming weeks.