47. Archbishop Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Birmingham

By Power 50 on Jul 15, 08 10:13 PM in Third Sector

Name: Most Reverend Vincent Nichols
Position: Archbishop of Birmingham
Sector: Third Sector
2007 Placing: 11th

As the spiritual leader for Catholics across a huge swathe of the centre of England, the Most Reverend
Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Birmingham has an enormous church.

The 61 year-old Archbishop is not afraid to use the power and influence of his office, much to the Government's irritation.

Famously, he forced Education Secretary Alan Johnson into an embarrassing U-turn over quotas in faith schools. He also pitched into the argument over gay adoption, arguing Catholics should be granted an exemption.

He has not been slow to lambaste the BBC for what he regards as the consistently negative and disrespectful way the corporation reports on the business of the Catholic Church, and was particularly
upset when the BBC commissioned Popetown for its digital channels - an irreverent animated
look at life in the Vatican. A couple of years ago he also turned his sights on the Post Office for opening on a Sunday in the run-up to Christmas.

Archbishop Nichols comes from Liverpool, having been born in Crosby just after the Second World War. He was ordained priest in 1969 and ordained bishop by Cardinal Basil Hume in 1992.

His first appointment as a bishop was in North London as an auxiliary bishop - a post he held for eight years before coming to Birmingham. He was also general secretary of the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales.

In March 2000 he was installed as the ninth Bishop and eighth Archbishop of Birmingham.

His archdiocese is vast, covering Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Walsall, Wolverhampton, Sandwell, Solihull, all of Staffordshire, and Berkshire and Oxfordshire north of the Thames.

Archbishop Nichols is also chairman of the Department for Catholic Education and Formation of the Bishops' Conference, and chairman of the Catholic Education Service. He represented the European bishops at the November 1998 Synod of Bishops from Oceania and attended the Synod of Bishops for Europe in September 1999.

He travelled to Rome for the installation of Pope Benedict XVI, having previously met the future Pope on a number of occasions, describing him as "a delightful person".

Archbishop Nichols has written two books to date: The Promise of Future Glory and Missioners.