The head of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI has appointed a new Archbishop of Warsaw.

The move follows the resignation of Warsaw Archbishop Stanislaw Wielgus, who stepped down just hours before his installation Mass on January 7 as he admitted his ties with the communist-era secret police.

Kazimierz Nycz, 57, who was the Bishop of Koszalin-Kolobrzeg in north Poland, will now take up the vacant role.

Following the announcement, Bishop Nycz spoke about how the decision was a "difficult" one, but also that he saw it as a "gift" to be given the responsibility of the Warsaw Church.

He told the Vatican Radio: "With great and truly unhidden humility I stand before all this."

Bishop Nycz is seen as a person who holds an immaculate record under communism, something that should bring stability following a testing time for the Catholic Church in Poland.

Speaking about how the Catholic Church must handle the situation of some of their priests cooperating with the communist-era secret police, Bishop Nycz said "one must approach the issue calmly and apply the evangelical principles".

"If we don't, we are going to live from name to name, file to file, which would be very bad for the Church,'' he added.