The Most Reverend Richard Moth was today officially installed as the Twelfth Archbishop of Westminster during a formal Mass of Installation held at Westminster Cathedral at 12:00 noon on Saturday, 14th February 2026.
‘The need for all peoples to live in peace, the value and dignity of every person, the right to life at every stage, the protection of the vulnerable, the plight of the refugee and the dispossessed, the protection of our common home, all of these call for the light of the Gospel to be shone upon them.’
Richard Moth was formally installed as Archbishop of Westminster during a Mass at Westminster Cathedral today, succeeding Cardinal Vincent Nichols as the designated leader of the Catholic Church in England and Wales.
In the homily, Archbishop Moth said that God calls us to “go out into the world of our own age, carrying with us the message of the gospel of peace” into “the public square”, where the “great questions of our time” call for its “light” to be shone upon them.
“Let us ensure that the light of the gospel shines brightly in our parish communities, in our homes and our schools,” he urged. “At every opportunity, let us shed the light of the gospel on the world of our day, in our universities, our places of work.”
He referenced words in the second reading, from St Paul’s Second Letter to Timothy, “Fan into flame the gift of God… for God gave us a spirit not of fear, but of power and love and self-control”, which he recalled hearing at the episcopal ordination of Cardinal Basil Hume in 1976.
Archbishop Moth said, “God’s call to us is not a call to power as so often exercised in the world, to achieve dominion over others. Rather it is characterised by self-control, not a self-control ‘generated’ as it were from within ourselves, but a self-control guided, empowered by the Holy Spirit.
“It is characterised by love, a love that reflects to all the love that we see in Christ. This is a love that is total self-giving, self-emptying to the point of the death that we see depicted so clearly in the great rood here, above the sanctuary. This is Christ-like service, that brings faith, love and hope to a world that, in our present age, cries out for hope.
“This service is our mission as Christ’s Church. St Paul reminds us that we receive the gifts that come to us through the Holy Spirit, often experienced in gentleness and in the silence of prayer. These gifts are experienced in their fullness, fanned into flame, through our living out of the mission to which we are called.”
He also acknowledged the Church’s failures: “This work of evangelisation is vital, but it is fragile and adversely impacted by our failures in love, power and self-control. Here I am most aware of every occasion on which members of the Church, or the Church as a whole, have failed, most especially when the vulnerable have been abused.
“Such failure calls for listening to and learning from those who have suffered so grievously and a continuing commitment to ensuring that our communities are places where all are safe in their encounter with Christ and with one another.
“The reality is that the power of the Church is the power of service. It is the power of service in the way that Jesus serves, emptying of self for the salvation of all.”
The ceremony was carried out according to the ancient Catholic rite used for the reception and installation of Archbishops of Canterbury before the Reformation, which has been used in Westminster since the restoration of the Catholic hierarchy in 1850.
The service began with the congregation of around 2,000 people singing lauds and terce. After a procession including clergy, bishops, and ecumenical guests, Archbishop Moth entered the Cathedral to the sound of the bell and a fanfare.
The provost prayed as Archbishop Moth knelt at the high altar. The papal nuncio, Archbishop Miguel Maury Buendía, presented Pope Leo XIV’s apostolic letter appointing Moth Archbishop of Westminster to the chancellor of the diocese, Canon Jeremy Trood, who read it out to the congregation.
The provost then led Archbishop Moth to the throne. Former Archbishop of Westminster Cardinal Nichols passed him the crozier, the staff which symbolises the office of a bishop.
Archbishop Moth accepted it and said, “I accept the pastoral care of the people of God in the Archdiocese of Westminster. I resolve to serve faithfully the Church in this Archdiocese.”
Archbishop of Canterbury Sarah Mullally then welcomed him as Archbishop of Westminster on behalf of the presidents of Churches Together in England.
She said: “We give thanks for your calling and look ahead to our shared life and witness. We thank God for your yes to this ministry, and for your willingness to receive the office entrusted to you as Archbishop of Westminster.
“Your service as priest and bishop has been marked by faithful pastoral care, a commitment to justice, and a deep concern for the dignity of every person made in the image of God. London has long been served by a close and constructive relationship between our Churches.
“As you take up this new responsibility, you do so building on the faithful ministry of Cardinal Vincent Nichols, for which we give thanks, and on strong foundations of trust and cooperation already in place.”
Archbishop Moth greeted the other ecumenical and diocesan representatives and then celebrated pontifical Mass, with the Creed, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei in Latin plainsong. The service ended with St John Henry Newman’s hymn, “Praise to the Holiest”.
Archbishop Moth was born in Chingola, Zambia, in 1958, and was brought up in Kent. He was ordained Priest for the Archdiocese of Southwark on 3 June 1982.
In 2001 he was appointed Vicar General and Chancellor of the Diocese. He was ordained Bishop of the Forces in 2009 in Westminster Cathedral and appointed Bishop of Arundel and Brighton in 2015.