|PIC1|The Most Rev Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Birmingham has been appointed to succeed Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor as head of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales.

Archbishop Nichols, 63, is said to have been personally chosen for the post by Pope Benedict XVI after returning from his trip to Africa last month.

The Pope’s intervention came following the failure of the Congregation of Bishops to choose a successor. In March a number of leading bishops sent a letter to the Papal Nuncio, Archbishop Faustino Sainz Munoz, saying that Archbishop Nichols was a “divisive” figure.

Some have also criticised him for his perceived ambition, however he has always claimed that he was “ambitious for God”.

In 2003 Archbishop Nichols claimed that parts of the BBC, especially the news and current affairs sections were pursuing an anti-Catholic agenda. He was also able to force the BBC to withdraw the controversial series Popetown, which many viewed as offensive to Roman Catholics.

Archbishop Nichols was also successful in blocking attempts by the government to force faith schools to accept more students from non-faith backgrounds.

The Archbishop is also seen as tough on dealing with allegations of child abuse by clergymen. In 2000 Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor was criticised for allegedly failing to report a Catholic priest who had abused children.

Archbishop Nichols was born in Crosby, Merseyside and trained at the English College in Rome.