Cardinal Seán Brady congratulates Archbishop Vincent Nichols on his appointment as Archbishop of Westminster

03 Apr 2009

PRESS RELEASE
3 April 2009

Cardinal Seán Brady congratulates Archbishop Vincent Nichols on his appointment as Archbishop of Westminster

Cardinal Seán Brady, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, today congratulated Archbishop Vincent Nichols on the announcement that he is to become the next Archbishop of Westminster.
Cardinal Brady said “I wish to offer my prayerful support, on my own behalf and on behalf of the Irish Bishops’ Conference, to Archbishop Nichols on the news of his appointment by the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, as the next Archbishop of Westminster in succession to Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor.
“I have known Archbishop Vincent for many years.  He has visited Ireland frequently and has contributed significantly to issues of importance to the Church, especially in the area of education.   His new appointment as pastoral leader of the Catholic Church in England and Wales will no doubt be challenging but will also bring to him and the people of God many blessings.
“On this happy occasion I extend our support, and that of the prayers of the faithful in Ireland, to Archbishop Nichols as he takes up his new appointment.”
ENDS
Note for Editors
Pope Benedict today appointed Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Birmingham, England, as metropolitan archbishop of Westminster (area 3,634, population 4,664,000, Catholics 472,600, priests 669, permanent deacons 8, religious 1,560), England.  Archbishop Nichols succeeds Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.
Further information:
Martin Long, Director of Communications 086 1727678