Mgr Nicholas Hudson appointed as new Auxiliary Bishop for Westminster

Published: 31/03/2014

Last Updated: 01/05/2014

Pope Francis has today appointed Mgr Nicholas Hudson as Auxiliary Bishop for the Diocese of Westminster.

The Episcopal Ordination of Bishop-elect Mgr Hudson will take place on 4 June at Westminster Cathedral (the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Most Precious Blood, Westminster), London SW1.

Mgr Hudson, 55, was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Southwark in 1986 and was Rector of the Venerable English College in Rome from 2004 until 2013. He is currently parish priest for Sacred Heart in Wimbledon, the parish where he was baptised and later ordained.

Speaking about his appointment Mgr Nicholas said:

“I feel both honoured and humbled to have been appointed by the Holy Father, Pope Francis, as Auxiliary Bishop of Westminster. I will do everything in my capacity to serve and assist His Eminence Cardinal Nichols in his ministry as Pastor of the Diocese.

“Coming from the south side of the Thames, I have always felt at home in both Westminster and Southwark. I look forward now to getting to know the Diocese of Westminster very much better: the great number of clergy, laity, religious, parishes, schools, and colleges; the many people of other Christian denominations and of other faith traditions – and help them in our shared journey of faith.

“It is exciting to be a Catholic in this second year of the pontificate of Pope Francis. I pray that I might emulate the Holy Father’s radical simplicity and outreach to those on the margins of society and of the Church. Of all the many gifts received as a priest of Southwark most precious has been the privilege of knowing people with severe disabilities, who call us to make a place always for the poor at the heart of the Church.

“As I prepare to cross the river, my heart is full of gratitude to my home diocese, not least the Parish of the Sacred Heart, Wimbledon, where I first received the Faith. It has been a joy to serve there since January as parish priest: I am only sorry that I cannot not stay there longer. I thank my family; thank the priests and people of the parish where I was first a priest, in Canterbury; thank all those with whom I worked in the field of R.E. and Catechesis at the Southwark Christian Education Centre. I would wish to thank as well the staff and students of the Venerable English College: years of helping to form future priests in Rome rekindled within me that sense of mission with which I first offered myself for the priesthood some twenty-seven years ago, a mission which I feel privileged now to share with the people and clergy of Westminster.”

Speaking of the appointment Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster, said:

“I welcome most warmly Mgr Nicholas Hudson as Auxiliary Bishop in Westminster Diocese. I thank our Holy Father, Pope Francis, for this appointment.

“Mgr Hudson will bring wide experience and fine personal qualities to our Diocese. He has served as a parish priest, as leader of catechetics and, of course, as Vice-Rector and the Rector of the English College in Rome. I know that we will be received enthusiastically on this side of the Thames by both clergy and laity. We look forward very much to the start of his ministry among us.

“I also wish to thank Archbishop Peter Smith and the Diocese of Southwark for their gift. Mgr Hudson will be much missed in his home diocese. This appointment is one of the ways in which dioceses serve each other and together enrich the leadership of our Church in this country.”