Pope Leo XIV has appointed Bishop Richard Moth as the new Archbishop of Westminster, the most prominent Catholic figure in England and Wales, the church announced on Friday.

Moth, 67, will formally replace the retiring Cardinal Vincent Nichols - who held the role leading the two nations' estimated 3.8 million Catholics for 16 years - on February 14.

Nichols, who turned 80 last month, had faced criticism latterly in his tenure following a damning 2020 report into longstanding allegations of child sex abuse within the Catholic Church.

It found he "seemingly put the reputation of the church" above his duty to victims and had shown "no acknowledgement of any personal responsibility to lead or influence change".

At a London press conference featuring both Moth and Nichols, the archbishop-elect welcomed his appointment, saying he was "pinching myself" and "massively grateful" to Leo.

Born in Zambia in 1958 and raised in Kent, southeast England, Moth held senior roles in the London diocese of Southwark before being ordained bishop of the armed forces in 2009.

He has been the Bishop of Arundel and Brighton since 2015, while chairing the church's social justice department and serving as liaison bishop for prisons. (AFP)