By Catherine Pepinster
While speculation is growing that a new Archbishop of Canterbury may finally be appointed in the next few weeks, another religious leader could also be named to take up residence a mile north at Archbishop’s House, next door to Westminster Cathedral.
A successor to Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Catholic Archbishop of Westminster, is long overdue. The usual retirement age for Catholic bishops is 75. But according to Catholic canon law, a bishop can go on past that age if the Pope asks them to do so. This often happens if the search for a bishop’s successor takes a long time. Cardinal Nichols is now heading for his 80th birthday in November, yet remains in post.
There are, however, signs that he might soon be retiring – his diary is almost empty for October – and with that, speculation is growing about his potential successor for a post whose holder has long been perceived as the leader of the Catholics of England and Wales. (Scotland is treated separately by the Vatican and has its own bishops and bishops’ conference, while Northern Ireland’s Catholic bishops are, according to the Vatican, part of the bishops’ conference of Ireland).
Although it is ultimately down to the Pope to accept a resignation or ask a bishop to step aside and to also name new bishops, the Catholic process is a long one involving considerable consultation. The process begins with the apostolic nuncio – in effect, the Pope’s ambassador – consulting other bishops, rectors of seminaries, theologians and Catholic laypeople, particularly those in public life, while all Catholics are free to write to the nuncio with their views.
After conducting his research, the nuncio delivers a report, known as the terna, with three names of potential candidates for the post, with detailed background on all three, to Rome’s Dicastery for Bishops.
This Vatican office then passes on its recommendation to the Pope who finally makes the decision – in theory. But during the papacy of Francis, he apparently often ignored recommendations and made his own choices, sometimes without the thorough investigations of the bishops’ department.
That the search for a successor to the Archbishop of Westminster has taken so long, may well be down to changes in nuncio, with a new one appointed in 2023 beginning his own search. But it also reflects the importance of the role – an importance highlighted by popes usually appointing its incumbents as cardinals.
Delays may have been caused by other posts having to be filled: this year, Bishop John Sherrington, an auxiliary bishop in Westminster Diocese, was appointed Archbishop of Liverpool. Then there is the Diocese of Plymouth, which has had a vacancy for bishop for three years.
The Plymouth saga has been embarrassing. Twice, a new bishop was announced, only for the appointment to fall through for reasons never fully explained. And after a scandal in Newcastle in Hexham, involving the previous bishop, Robert Byrne, and his association with priests caught up in abuse sagas, the Catholic church will want to get this one right.
The Westminster role is undoubtedly more difficult than other episcopal appointments. Although a small diocese in geographical area, it is the largest in terms of Catholic population. The archbishop has three or four auxiliaries to help him in the day-to-day management of the diocese.
He will also be advised by a council that meets regularly and he will also be part of the bishops’ conference of England and Wales, and the Archbishop of Westminster is usually its president. The incumbent is also likely to join various Rome bodies and wlll travel regularly there for meetings.
Finally, the Archbishop of Westminster is perceived as the spiritual leader of Britain’s Catholics, and there will be ecumenical and interfaith relationships to develop too.
The Archbishop of Westminster will also be expected to speak publicly and often be the face of the Catholic church in Britain. For Cardinal Nichols, this role has sometimes proved troublesome – and sometimes put Catholics at the heart of public life.
His interventions at the hearings of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, where he gave evidence regarding the way in his which his own diocese, Westminster, and his previous one, Birmingham, dealt with the issue were criticised by the panel which said Cardinal Nichols “did not always exercise the leadership expected of a senior member of the church, at times preferring to protect the reputation of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales and in Rome”. The cardinal apologised for his role in the scandal.
At other times Nichols has been praised for his writings and speeches, advocating Christian values. He has been particularly known for speaking out against human trafficking and for the Christians of Gaza.
In 2023 his presence at the coronation where he said a prayer was a highly significant moment – he was the first Catholic prelate to do so since the coronation of Mary Tudor. And then on 16 September he officiated at the requiem mass in Westminster Cathedral for the Duchess of Kent, the first time that the Catholic cathedral has hosted a royal funeral.
So who could combine all the roles that being Archbishop of Westminster involves – administrator, manager of priests, pastoral and spiritual leader, representative of English Catholics in Rome, public face of Catholicism in Britain?
Among the likely candidates are:
John Wilson, 57, Archbishop of Southwark
In theory all Catholic archbishops are of equal standing but in practice being Archbishop of Westminster has a much higher profile. Vincent Nichols, for example, was Archbishop of Birmingham for nine years before taking on the role at Westminster in 2009.
If a swap is likely, then one of the most talked about candidates is John Wilson, on the other side of the Thames in Southwark. Wilson converted from the Church of England when he was 16 and, like, Nichols, studied for the priesthood at the English College in Rome. He has been a parish priest, prison chaplain and taught moral theology. He was previously an auxiliary bishop in Westminster, so he knows the diocese. He participated in the Synod on Synodality in Rome, called by Pope Francis, but raised eyebrows with some of his less enthusiastic remarks about it. Was embroiled in a damaging row in a Southwark diocese school when he sacked the governors over a gay author’s views.
Bernard Longley, 70, Archbishop of Birmingham
While Wilson might be considered too young for the role, Bernard Longley might be thought too old – or a useful caretaker candidate until others emerge. Another former Westminster auxiliary, he took over from Nichols in Birmingham in 2009. A popular bishop for his pastoral skills – he has been continually praised by sex abuse survivors for his care.
A Mancunian by birth who studied music in his home town at the Royal Northern College of Music and New College, Oxford, he then studied for the priesthood at the Wonersh seminary.
Longley has had a long-standing commitment to ecumenism: he has co-chaired the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission since 2011 and has recently been appointed to the Vatican’s Dicastries for Interreligious Dialogue and for Promoting Christian Unity.
Mark O’Toole, 62, Archbishop of Cardiff-Menevia
Mark O’Toole knows just what it takes to be Archbishop of Westminster – he was private secretary to Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Conno, Nichols’s predecessor at Westminster. A Londoner, O’Toole has served in Diocese of Westminster parishes, been rector of the Allen Hall seminary in Chelsea and has a sound academic record as well – his supervisor for his Oxford theology M.Phil was Rowan Williams.
As Bishop of Plymouth 2013-22 he ran a sprawling diocese stretching from Hampshire to Cornwall, before moving to Wales and taking over not only the archdiocese of Cardiff but also merging it with the neighbouring diocese of Menevia. An engaging and pastoral bishop.
Nicholas Hudson, 66, auxiliary bishop of Westminster
It would be a big jump for an auxiliary to be propelled into the top clerical Catholic role in England and Wales, but Hudson’s name is being frequently mentioned in Catholic circles.
With a French mother, he showed an early aptitude as a linguist and studied languages at Cambridge before training for the priesthood at the English College in Rome, and returned there as rector.
Has served in parishes in Canterbury and Wimbledon before becoming auxiliary in Westminster in 2014. He has particular interests in working with people with disabilities – he has been involved in the L’Arche movement – and also in the Holy Land: he has visited Israel and Palestine and is moderator of the Holy Land co-ordination group of the bishops’ conference.
Marcus Stock, 63, Bishop of Leeds
Although London-born, Marcus Stock has served as a priest and bishop in the Midlands and in West Yorkshire, becoming Bishop of Leeds in 2014. He first made his mark in education, being director of schools in Birmingham and later chairing the Catholic Education Service. In 2009, he became general secretary of the bishops’ conference – often a sign that someone is destined for episcopal office. He has made his mark in the church in two ways in particular: one is as lead bishop for safeguarding and supporting survivors of sexual abuse. The other is the way he has transformed music education in his diocese, creating a schools singing and keyboard programme via the cathedral that reaches 7,500 children a week.
Hugh Gilbert, 73, Bishop of Aberdeen
Time and again, English Catholics say they would like a deeply spiritual man as their pastoral leader: it happened when Basil Hume, Abbot of Ampleforth, became Archbishop of Westminster. Could this be the moment for another Benedictine?
While bringing Hugh Gilbert south of the border from the separate Scottish bishops’ conference, where he has served as bishop of Aberdeen since 2011, would be unusual it wouldn’t be entirely out of the ordinary; he was actually born in Hampshire. He first left England and crossed the border in 1975 to join the Benedictine abbey of Pluscarden, where he served as abbot from 1992 to 2011. Age may rule him out, unless the Vatican wanted a caretaker bishop until someone else emerged.
