The leader of the Catholic Church in England and Wales this afternoon ruled out any chance of him succeeding Pope Francis following the pontiff’s death today at age 88.
Merseyside-born Cardinal Vincent Nichols, 79, who is one of the most powerful figures in the church, claimed that he was ‘too old and not capable’ to be considered for the position.
Cardinal Timothy Ratcliffe, who joined Cardinal Nichols at the press conference, also seemingly pulled out of the race to become the new Pope.
He added: ‘I believe the Holy Spirit is far too wise to even think of me for the shortest moment.’
The pair are one of the three British cardinals who are technically eligible to succeed Pope Francis as head of the Catholic Church.
Liverpool-born Cardinal Vincent Nichols has been Archbishop of Westminster and head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales since 2009. He was made a Cardinal in 2014.
The clergyman, 79, was ordained over 55 years ago and originally served in his home city before becoming Archbishop of Birmingham in 2000, prior to being given the UK’s top job.
In more recent years, Pope Francis appointed him to wider roles including being president of the Santa Marta group, an alliance of Catholic bishops and police chiefs around the world, launched in 2014.
Cardinal Vincent Nichols, who is said to stand an outside chance of succeeding Pope Francis
Archbishop of Westminster Cardinal Nichols, left, with Pope Francis at Vatican City in 2015
In October 2016, Cardinal Nichols, the son of two teachers, was elected Vice-President of the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences.
Paying tribute after the Pope’s death was announced this morning, Cardinal Nichols said: ‘A voice proclaiming the innate dignity of every human being, especially those who are poor or marginalised, is now silent.’
Asked about the possibility of succeeding Pope Francis as the leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Roman Catholics in a 2014 interview, Cardinal Nichols had said he said it was impossible to ‘assess and judge the unfolding of events’.
He told the Liverpool Echo: ‘There are some very able men among the cardinals and this is a big church that’s in every continent and most nations – and you can’t assess and judge the unfolding of events in the Church, except from a broad perspective. And on that broad perspective, I am a little dot!’
He added: ‘And we have seen it with having a Pope from the Argentine (Pope Francis) – it has expanded everyone’s horizons. I think whenever the time comes it will be a worldwide debate, not just a European debate.’
The clergyman has been seen as a ‘liberal’ figure, once criticised for supporting civil partnerships and gay-friendly masses held in London for six years until 2013 – but he publicly opposed gay marriage.
He has also spoken out against welfare reforms by the coalition government led by Lord Cameron, warning the changes were leaving people ‘in destitution’.
And in his most recent political intervention, he called the Labour government ‘deeply irresponsible’ for allowing the assisted dying legislation to proceed after a single morning’s debate compared with hundreds of hours spent debating the fox hunting ban two decades ago.
Cardinal Nichols greeted by Pope Francis during a papal audience in Rome, watched by his predecessor as Archbishop of Westminster Cardinal, Cormac Murphy-O’Connor.
He said: ‘I believe it is deeply irresponsible of any government to allow a change of this magnitude to be carried out without due, proper, government-supported parliamentary process.’
Cardinal Nichols faced calls to resign in 2020 after the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse found it had been ‘swept under the carpet’ by the Catholic Church in Britain.
The 162-page report said: ‘The church’s neglect of the physical, emotional and spiritual wellbeing of children and young people in favour of protecting its reputation was in conflict with its mission of love and care for the innocent and vulnerable.’
Of Cardinal Nichols, it stated: ‘There was no acknowledgment of any personal responsibility to lead or influence change. Nor did he demonstrate compassion towards victims in the recent cases which we examined.’
The clergyman offered his resignation but Pope Francis asked him to stay put. At the time, a church spokesperson said the cardinal would not be resigning following the inquiry’s criticisms because he was ‘determined to put it right’.
Cardinal Nichols has spoken previously of feeling a calling to the priesthood while standing on the terraces at Anfield.
The life-long Liverpool FC supporter told The Times, in 2007: ‘I’d gone to watch Liverpool, (was stood) on the Kop at Anfield and (said) to God, “Why don’t you just leave me alone? Why can’t I just be one of a crowd?”.’
Cardinal Nichols was born in Crosby, Merseyside, in November 1945, where he attended SS Peter and Paul RC Primary and St Mary’s College.
Cardinal Nichols is viewed as being from the liberal wing of the church and has spoken out on poverty and assisted dying but faced calls to resign over the child sex abuse scandal.
At St Mary’s, he recalled exploring faith in RE lessons, and that sport and music were also very important at the school.
He said: ‘I was a member of the school orchestra – I played the French horn – and performed in the annual concerts at the Philharmonic Hall. My appreciation of music grew, while being in an orchestra also teaches you about teamwork.’
He studied for the priesthood at the Venerable English College in Rome from 1963.
Returning to England, he continued his studies at the University of Manchester where he obtained the degree of “Master of Arts” with a thesis on the theology of St. John Fisher.
He was ordained in December 1969 for the Archdiocese of Liverpool.
His first role was as a parish priest in Wigan, where he was also a chaplain to a sixth-form college, before he then moved to work in Toxteth, Liverpool.
In January 1984, he became the general secretary of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, occupying the post for nine years.
He worked closely with then Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Basil Hume, and earned a reputation as a ‘dynamic administrator’.
Following the death of a pope – or in rare cases of a resignation – the Vatican convenes what is known as a papal conclave. This is where the College of Cardinals comes together to elect the next head of the Catholic Church.
Cardinals are the Catholic Church’s most senior priests, who have travel from all around the world to be at The Vatican in Rome – the home of the church – to take part in the election, or conclave.
The most recent rules of the papal conclave say that there are 138 electors amongst the 252 total cardinals. Only those who are under the age of 80 are allowed to take part in what is a secret ballot, held in the Sistine Chapel.
There are four rounds of voting, which take place every day until a one candidate receives a two-thirds majority of the vote. The process will typically last between 15 and 20 days before a new Pope is chosen.
The only English Pope was Adrian IV, born at Abbot’s Langley, Hertfordshire, as Nicholas Breakspear, who held office between 1154 and 1159.
He became a priest in France and was appointed a bishop in Italy in 1150 by Pope Eugene III.
