Archbishop-elect Richard Moth (Photo: Diocese of Westminster)
Bishop Richard Moth has been confirmed as the new Archbishop of Westminster, the most senior post in the Catholic Church in England and Wales.
Moth, 67, will succeed Cardinal Vincent Nichols, who has led the diocese since 2009. Nichols will remain Apostolic Administrator until Moth is installed at Westminster Cathedral on 14 February 2026, according to a statement from the diocese.
Moth is currently Bishop of Arundel and Brighton, a role he has held since 2015. He will become the 12th Archbishop of Westminster and his seat will be at Westminster Cathedral, the Mother Church for Catholics in England and Wales.
Commenting on his appointment, Moth said, “I am moved greatly by the trust that Pope Leo has placed in me, in appointing me to the Diocese of Westminster.”
He added that he was grateful for the support of Nichols during the transition, saying the cardinal “has given dedicated service to the Diocese and will be missed greatly”.
Moth said his first priority would be to get to know the priests and people of Westminster and that he looked forward to serving them and building on the work of his predecessors.
Nichols welcomed the appointment, saying Moth would bring “many gifts and considerable episcopal experience” to the diocese from his years in Arundel and Brighton and as a Bishop of the Forces earlier on in his ministry.
“I look forward very much to his Installation as our new Archbishop on Saturday, 14 February 2026,” Nichols said, noting that the date coincides with St Valentine’s Day and the Feast of Saints Cyril and Methodius.
Moth was ordained Bishop of the Forces in Westminster Cathedral in 2009, ministering to members of the British armed forces and their families until his move to Arundel in 2015.
Nichols was at his 2009 ordination: “I remember being present in Westminster Cathedral on 29 September 2009 for the Episcopal Ordination of Bishop Richard as Bishop of the Forces. So today I can say: ‘Welcome back, dear Bishop Richard. You are most welcome indeed.'”
Born in Chingola, Zambia, in 1958, Moth was raised in Kent and educated at The Judd School in Tonbridge before training for the priesthood at St John’s Seminary, Wonersh. He was ordained as a priest in the Archdiocese of Southwark in 1982.
His ministry has included parish work in south London, studies in canon law at St Paul University in Ottawa, and time in the Territorial Army as a chaplain. From 1992 to 2001 he served as private secretary to Archbishop Michael Bowen, later becoming vicar general and chancellor of the Diocese of Southwark.
In addition to his diocesan role, Moth chairs the Department for Social Justice of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales and is its liaison bishop for prisons. He is also chair of governors at St Mary’s University, Twickenham, and a member of the conference’s standing committee.
The Diocese of Westminster was established in 1850 and marked its 175th anniversary earlier this year. It serves one of the most culturally diverse Catholic populations in the country.
