Pope Leo names new leader of the Catholic Church in London

LONDON/VATICAN CITY - Pope Leo named Bishop Richard Moth on Friday as the new Archbishop of Westminster, the leader of the Catholic Church in London and the most prominent Catholic figure in England and Wales.

Moth will replace Cardinal Vincent Nichols who held the post for 16 years and who last month turned 80, the mandatory retirement age for Catholic bishops.

Moth, 67, was born in Zambia but moved to England at an early age. He had been serving since 2015 as leader of the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton in southern England, and was previously the Catholic bishop assigned to care for the British armed forces.

"It's a much bigger platform, and that's going to be rather unique, and I look forward to it," he told reporters.

The appointment comes a day after Leo shook up the leadership of the U.S. Church, replacing Cardinal Timothy Dolan as Archbishop of New York.

Moth will be installed in his new role on February 14, the Westminster diocese said in a statement. Nichols will remain as temporary leader in the interim.

Moth takes the helm as Catholicism is gaining ground, especially among younger worshippers.

A Bible Society/YouGov report this year found Catholics now outnumber Anglicans among churchgoers aged 18–34 in England and Wales, with 41% identifying as Catholic, compared with 20% who say they are Anglican, reversing 2018 levels.

In 2018, Moth took a skydiving trip to raise funds for Britons taking a pilgrimage to Lourdes, France, site of a famous Catholic shrine. "The Moth has landed," the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton tweeted afterwards.

Friday's appointment comes amid warming ties between Rome and London, marked by King Charles and Pope Leo praying together in the Vatican's Sistine Chapel this year in the first joint worship by an English monarch and a Catholic pontiff in nearly five centuries.

Moth said he had recently spoken with Sarah Mullally, who will become the Church of England's first female Archbishop of Canterbury in March, to discuss social justice issues and he hoped to get to know her better in his new role.

"The ecumenical sphere is not strange to me,” he said. — Reuters