LONDON/VATICAN CITY, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Pope Leo on Friday named Bishop Richard Moth as the new Archbishop of Westminster, the most prominent Catholic figure in England and Wales.
Moth will replace Cardinal Vincent Nichols who held the post for 16 years and who turned 80, the mandatory retirement age for Catholic bishops, in November.
The 67-year-old was born in Zambia but moved to England at an early age. His profile on the website of the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton in south England, where he has been bishop, states that he has previously served as bishop of the armed forces and has been outspoken on the running of prisons.
"I am moved greatly by the trust that Pope Leo has placed in me," Moth said in a statement. " I look forward to continuing the great adventure that is the life of the Church and witness to the Gospel."
The appointment comes a day after the Vatican shook up the leadership of the U.S. church.
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.
The appointment also 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.
The announcement also follows the Church of England's naming of Sarah Mullally as its first female Archbishop of Canterbury in October. The Catholic Church has an all-male clergy.
(Reporting by Muvija M and Joshua McElwee; editing by William James)
