Cardinal Vincent Nichols

Born in Crosby, Liverpool, on 8 November 1945, Vincent Nichols studied for the priesthood at the Venerable English College in Rome from 1963 to 1970, gaining licences in philosophy and theology at the Gregorian University. He was ordained priest in Rome on 21 December 1969 for the Archdiocese of Liverpool.

He then studied an MA degree in theology at Manchester University between 1970 and 1971. In 1971 he was appointed assistant priest in St Mary’s Parish, Wigan and chaplain to the Sixth Form College and St Peter’s High School. In 1974 he studied at Loyola University in Chicago and was awarded an M.Ed. In 1975 he was appointed to St Anne’s parish in Toxteth, Liverpool with particular responsibility for education.

In January 1984, he was appointed general secretary of the Bishops’ Conference in England & Wales.Mgr Vincent Nichols was appointed auxiliary bishop to Westminster, with responsibility for North London, on 24 January 1992.

On 21 May 2009 he was installed as the 11th Archbishop of Westminster following the retirement of Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor. He was elected President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales by unanimous acclamation on 30 April 2009.

He received the Pallium in Rome from Pope Benedict XVI on 29 June 2009, the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul.

In 2014, he was appointed by Pope Francis to lead the work of the Church against human trafficking and modern slavery. He is President of the Santa Marta Group, which gathers together Catholic bishops, police chiefs and government officials from over 30 countries around the world in a partnership to work towards the eradication of these twin scourges.
On 22 February 2014, he was created Cardinal Priest by Pope Francis in St Peter's Basilica in Rome. He was designated the titular Church of St Alphonsus Liguori, a neo-Gothic church that is in the care of the Redemptorists. It is best known for housing the icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help,a gift given to the Redemptorists by Pope Pius IX in 1866.

On 23 May 2018, along with the Santa Marta Group, he received the UN Path to Peace Award for his work combatting human trafficking and modern slavery. As Archbishop of Westminster, he is also Patron of the Bellarmine Institute.

He is patron of a number of Catholic charities including the Passage and the Cardinal Hume Centre.