Vincent Nichols

Vincent Gerard Nichols (born 8 November 1945) is an English Catholic prelate. A cardinal since 2014, he served as Archbishop of Westminster from 2009 to 2025. He was the Archbishop of Birmingham from 2000 to 2009 and was president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales. 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". Pope Leo XIV accepted his resignation on 19 December 2025. 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".