Vincent Gerard Nichols

infobox bishopbiog
name = Most Revd Vincent Gerard Nichols


religion = Catholic Church
See = Birmingham
Title = Archbishop of Birmingham
Ordained Bishop = 1969
Period = 15 February 2000 — present
Predecessor = Most Rev Maurice Noël Léon Couve de Murville
Successor = incumbent
date of birth = 8 November 1945
place of birth = Liverpool, England|infobox bishopstyles
name=Vincent Gerard Nichols
dipstyle=The Most Reverend
offstyle=Your Grace
relstyle=Archbishop
deathstyle=not applicable |

Vincent Gerard Nichols (born 8 November 1945, Crosby, Liverpool, England) is the current Roman Catholic Archbishop of Birmingham, an office he has held since March 2000.

Early life

Vincent Nichols entered the Venerable English College, Rome, in 1963 and was ordained priest for the Archdiocese of Liverpool on 21 December 1969. His further studies include obtaining the Licentiate in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome, and the degree of Master of Arts from the University of Manchester, specialising in the theology of Saint John Fisher.

Priest and Bishop

After working in the Archdiocese of Liverpool for 14 years, including, latterly, as the Director of the Upholland Northern Institute, Vincent Nichols was appointed General Secretary of the Catholic Episcopal Conference of England & Wales for nine years. In 1992 he was appointed by Pope John Paul II as Titular Bishop of Othona. He served as an auxiliary Bishop in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Westminster between 1992 and 2000, having special pastoral oversight for North London. During this time he served under Basil Cardinal Hume, Archbishop of Westminster. He presided over the burial of Cardinal Hume, at the end of his Requiem Mass in 1999.

Archbishop of Birmingham

In February 2000, Bishop Nichols was named by Pope John Paul II as eighth Archbishop of Birmingham (the ninth Catholic Bishop since the erection of the Diocese in 1850), and was installed on 29 March 2000, by Bishop Philip Pargeter, Auxiliary Bishop in Birmingham, and Provost of the Chapter of Saint Chad's Cathedral, where the Mass of Installation took place.His priorities in the first years in Birmingham have been the Pastoral Visitation of the Diocese by himself, together with the Auxiliary Bishop (at the time there was a single Auxiliary - Rt Rev Philip Pargeter; there are now three), the Vicar General and Episcopal Vicars, highlighting how the people and clergy of the Diocese need to reflect upon the life of the Church as both Communion and Mission. He also had the inspiration for the ‘Walk with Me’ programme, which seeks to bring people together in spiritual accompaniment through the seasons of the Church’s year. This initiative has also spread to other dioceses.

In addition to his pastoral oversight of the Archdiocese of Birmingham, Archbishop Nichols is Chairman of the Department for Catholic Education and Formation of the Bishops' Conference and Chairman of the Catholic Education Service (CES). He represented the European bishops at the November 1998 Synod of Bishops from Oceania and attended the Synod of Bishops for Europe in September 1999.

Archbishop Nichols has written one book to date: "Promise of Future Glory - Reflections on the Mass", recently republished by Alive Publications, and in the United States by Twenty Third Publications under the title "The Gift of the Mass". It is shortly to be published in Italian by the "Libreria Editrice Vaticana".

He provided the commentary for the BBC's coverage of the funeral of His Holiness Pope John Paul II. When asked by Huw Edwards to describe what was taking place at the anamnesis he famously stated "No, Huw. This is an important part of the Mass - we will be quiet".

Ministry outside of Birmingham

His Grace continues to maintain a high profile outside of his diocese. He is generally perceived as being close to the Holy Father Benedict XVI and frequently undertakes business in Rome. He is active in political campaigns in the United Kingdom, particularly in his role as chairman of the English and Welsh Bishop's "Department for Catholic Education and Formation".

He has appeared on the BBC many times over the years: both as Archbishop and as an Auxiliary Bishop in Westminster. He has given the Radio 4 "Thought of the Day" on several occasions.

He is lead episcopal trustee of the three English seminaries outside of the United Kingdom - The Royal English College in Valladolid, as well as the Pontifical Beda and the Venerable English Colleges in Rome. He is assisted in this role by two further episcopal trustees - Bishop Arthur Roche of Leeds and Bishop Mark Jabale of Menevia. He undertakes at least one "visitation" to each of these seminaries in each academic year.

In addition, he is Chairman of the Governing Body of Newman University College in Birmingham, by virtue of his status as ordinary of the Birmingham diocese.

Future Ministry

Nichols is speculated to be a possible successor to His Eminence Cormac Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor who has already reached the retiring age for Bishops (75 years). Nevertheless, the Holy Father has asked Murphy-O'Connor to remain in post for the time being.

External links

* [http://www.birminghamdiocese.org.uk Archdiocese of Birmingham]