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Archbishop of Westminster receives pallium: ‘It’s a very powerful sign’
Archbishop Richard Moth was one of the thirty-five men who received the pallium from Pope Leo XIV. In an interview with Vatican News, he describes the important symbol of the pallium, outlines his new role as the President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, and expresses hope to continue dialogue with the Church of England.
By Kielce Gussie
Thirty-five newly appointed metropolitan archbishops entered St. Peter’s Basilica this morning and walked away with a new small liturgical vestment with a big responsibility.
Pope Leo XIV placed this white cloth, called a pallium, on the shoulders of these men during the Mass on the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Patrons of Rome. Among them was the Archbishop of Westminster, Richard Moth, who described that papal interaction as “quite an extraordinary thing.”
This was the first time in eleven years a pontiff physically presented the palliums to new bishops.
Eleven years ago, Pope Francis had shifted the ceremony of the imposition of the pallium from Rome to the archbishop’s archdiocese with the nuncio. These new archbishops were invited to concelebrate Mass with the Pope and be present for the blessing of the pallium.
Archbishop Moth explained to Vatican News how he personally likes the tradition of receiving the pallium from the Pope as it is a “symbol of your closeness to the Petrine ministry from the Holy Father himself. It’s a very powerful experience, a very powerful sign I think for everybody.”
New year, new roles
Coming from being the bishop of the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton in southern England for the last eleven years, Archbishop Moth shared that the move to Westminster is really all about size. “From 85 communities to 206, so it is all about scale. It is just bigger and getting used to something on that big scale takes a bit of doing”, he noted.
However, this was not the only new role he took on in the last seven months. After Pope Leo appointed him the 12th Archbishop of Westminster in December last year, Archbishop Moth was then elected as the President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales in April 2026.
Archbishop Moth was one of thirty-five men who received the pallium this morning (@Vatican Media)
Taking on this position, he recalled being “very blessed in England and Wales” because it is “a very united group of bishops and there is a very real sense that we work together for the good of the mission of the Church.”
One of the priorities of the Bishops’ Conference is working for and protecting the dignity of every human person. Specifically, the Archbishop gave the example of working to “prevent the assisted dying bill”, which he said, “we are going to be facing again, it looks like in the coming time.”
Archbishop served as the bishop of the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton in southern England from 2015 (TOBY MELVILLE)
Archbishop Moth joked that being the President of the Bishops’ Conference is a bit of extra work, but it is also a great privilege—a work where he really feels “the support of his brother bishops.”
Kick-off is at 5am each morning
Looking to his new archdiocese, the Archbishop stressed that prayer has been and will continue to be the foundation of his work. “The thing that has become increasingly clear over the years that I have been a bishop is starting everything from a place of prayer because if we do not do that, we cannot do anything,” he said.
With prayer, Archbishop Moth shared, we are best equipped to fulfil the mission to which God has called us. For that reason, formation is one of his focuses in the new role. Take prayer and formation, put them together, and our call as Christians to proclaim the Gospel is possible—something the Archbishop has stressed for years before this new posting.
“If there is anybody listening to this in [the Diocese of] Arundel and Brighton—they will have heard this a number of times—we talk about this prayer, formation and then the task of the mission.”
This is a message Archbishop Moth has taken to heart. He makes time every day to dedicate to prayer—not at the end and not in the middle. “It is a five o’clock kick-off every morning to give time before the day of meetings and other things that come your way begins, to have that time of prayer, that time of silence out of which everything grows,” the President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales highlighted.
Two archbishops, one dialogue
In April this year, Archbishop Moth travelled to Rome and participated in an audience with Pope Leo and the newly appointed Archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally. He shared that both he and the Archbishop of Canterbury had a role in each other’s installations in the United Kingdom.
Archbishop Moth was present during Pope Leo’s audience with the new Archbishop of Canterbury (@Vatican Media)
“I think [the audience] gave a sign of our desire to work together where we can,” Archbishop Moth explained. “I think there will be particularly some areas in terms of social outreach across England and Wales where we’ll be able to work together.”
Looking to the future of the relationship between the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England, he stressed the importance of maintaining a dialogue with each other. Both Archbishop Moth and Archbishop Mullally are “presidents of churches together in England along with others, so there will be opportunities to work [together].
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