Faith Features

The Most Reverend Vincent Nichols, the new Archbishop of Westminster, whose Diocese incorporates the county, celebrated a Welcome Mass at St Alban and St Stephen Church in St Albans where he met clergy and parishioners.

He revealed why he had come to the area:

“I hope to celebrate Mass with as many people from this part of the Diocese of Westminster who’ll come” he said.

Important 

He also explained how it was important that he came out to meet the members of his Diocese and encourage them in a life of faith:

“One of the things that I’ve been trying to say over the past few days is that I do hope Catholics will be confident in their faith” he said, “never arrogant, never aggressive, but certainly confident and not afraid to speak up as I would hope people of every faith will do.

“Because faith is important in society today and it’s important that it’s not overlooked because it’s often the motive for the best in people, as well as unfortunately sometimes, the worst.”

As the head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, the Archbishop is responsible for an estimated 4.2 million Roman Catholics with over 470,000 Catholics in the Diocese of Westminster alone. He explained that this thought has its pros and cons:

“On the one hand it sounds very daunting” he said, “but on the other hand, one of the characteristics of a bishop’s life is that you go round seeing people at their best.

“So there’s lots to celebrate and there’s lots to rejoice in and I’m looking forward very much indeed to this evening, and three other evenings like this in the next two weeks, and gradually getting to know the parishes and the people.” 

Decision

The Reverend Vincent Nichols is the 11th holder of this post, and took over from his predecessor Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor who was the first Archbishop of Westminster to retire in post since the mid-19th Century. So, was it an easy decision for him to accept the appointment?

“Well, when you’re asked to do something by the Pope, there’s not really a lot of discussion” he explained.

“I suppose if I had had a very good reason for saying no, then that would have been accepted, but the assumption is that you don’t.

“As a priest I wanted very much to dedicate my life to the work of the church and you then do what other people tell you to do, and I’m happy to do that, to live my life with the kind of freedom that obedience gives you actually.

“When you promise to do something and then you get on and do it, it has an inner freedom, it’s lovely actually.”

Ambition

Despite being viewed by many in the church as ambitious, he explained that he never imagined that he would reach this position?

“No, never” he said, “I totally expected to spend the whole of my life as a priest in the Archdiocese of Liverpool and to work in the parishes there.

“Quite frankly it was never a thought in my mind how the years of priesthood would unfold. I think it’s just a path you just follow, you take it a step at a time and I’m as surprised as anybody I think to find myself here.

“I think that’s important too, because I can only truly believe that this is where God wants me to be and there’s no other reason for being here, and therefore I know that what I’m asked to do is my best and that’s what I’ll try and do and leave the rest in God’s hands.

“I’m ambitious to do things well, but not for me, for the Lord and the church and for the service that I want to give.

“Sometimes people use the word ambition as if it’s self-seeking but I try hard not to live like that.”

Challenges

The Archbishop also revealed what he thought the biggest challenges were for the Catholic Church as he takes up this post.

“The biggest single challenge is to be faithful, to be faithful to the Lord, to be close to him, to let him form us into a community of faith that is deeply rooted in him and yet very open to others” he said.

“It’s to play our part in public society today, in a British society that is changing. I think we bring some good things to that task because the Catholic Church, of its nature and instinct, is international.

“People in our churches in this country now come from plenty of different cultures and ethnic groups and nationalities and so there’s a little sign there of the kind of harmony that we’d like to achieve in society as a whole.

“So we have our part to play” he added, “we have our gifts to bring and we have a lot to receive from others.

“I hope that we can learn both the inner confidence and the humility to make our contribution a good one and a worthy one and one that is characterised by truthfulness and honesty and humility at times - because there are plenty of things in the Catholic church that aren’t attractive and we have to be humble and acknowledge that.”