The pope named Bishop Nicholas Hudson, until now an auxiliary bishop of Westminster, as the new Bishop of Plymouth.
The appointment likely brings to an end a tumultuous vacancy period, which saw two previous candidates nominated to lead the southern English diocese but ruled out before they took up the post.
Pope Leo is expected soon to name other English bishops, including the Archbishop of Westminster, who is informally known as the spiritual leader of Catholics in England and Wales.
How have episcopal nominations played out in recent years in England?
Which sees are expected to fall vacant in the near future?
And is it possible to discern any patterns in appointments?
Recent appointments
Going back five years to 2020, we see the following appointments to England’s 20 territorial dioceses:
✅ March 18, 2020: Canon Stephen Wright, 49, named an auxiliary bishop of Birmingham.
✅ March 18, 2020: Canon David Evans, 66, named an auxiliary bishop of Birmingham.
✅ July 8, 2020: Canon David Oakley, 64, named Bishop of Northampton.
✅ July 6, 2021: Canon Thomas Neylon, 63, named an auxiliary bishop of Liverpool.
✅ Oct. 11, 2022: Bishop Peter Collins, 64, named Bishop of East Anglia.
✅ June 14, 2023: Bishop Stephen Wright, 52, named Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle.
✅ Nov. 28, 2023: Bishop Philip Moger, 67, named an auxiliary bishop of Southwark.
❎ Dec. 15, 2023: Canon Christopher Whitehead, 54, named Bishop of Plymouth but resigned on March 22, 2024, before his installation.
✅ March 1, 2024: Bishop John Bosco MacDonald, 60, named Bishop of Clifton.
✅ April 22, 2024: Bishop James Curry, 63, named an auxiliary bishop of Westminster.
✅ April 25, 2024: Bishop Richard Walker, 63, named an auxiliary bishop of Birmingham.
✅ April 25, 2024: Bishop Timothy Menezes, 53, named an auxiliary bishop of Birmingham.
❎ Sept. 13, 2024: Bishop Philip Moger, 69, named Bishop of Plymouth, but resigned on Feb. 24, 2025, before his installation.
✅ April 5, 2025: Bishop John Sherrington, 67, named Archbishop of Liverpool.
✅ Oct. 21, 2025: Bishop Nicholas Hudson, 66, named Bishop of Plymouth.
What’s notable from the list is that none of the archdiocesan sees — Westminster, Southwark, and Birmingham — had vacancies at the top in this period.
Some of the best-known English dioceses — Leeds, Portsmouth, Shrewsbury — also remained under the same bishop throughout the five years.
So there hasn’t been much episcopal movement in England since 2020.
It’s also worth noting that there were two apostolic nuncios in this period, Archbishop Claudio Gugerotti and Archbishop Miguel Maury Buendía (since April 2023), who have both played important roles in episcopal nominations.
There have also been two popes: Francis and Leo XIV (who oversaw episcopal appointments under his predecessor from April 2023 until his papal election in May 2025).
Coming vacancies
Given that diocesan bishops must tender their resignations at the age of 75 and rarely serve beyond 80, the following English dioceses should become vacant in the next five years:
Archdiocese of Westminster, where Cardinal Vincent Nichols turns 80 on Nov. 8, 2025.
Diocese of Middlesbrough, where Bishop Terence Drainey is 76.
Diocese of Brentwood, where Bishop Alan Williams turns 75 on March 15, 2026.
Diocese of Hallam, where Bishop Ralph Heskett turns 75 in 2028.
Diocese of Salford, where Bishop John Arnold turns 75 in 2028.
Diocese of Nottingham, where Bishop Patrick McKinney turns 75 in 2029.
Archdiocese of Birmingham, where Archbishop Bernard Longley turns 75 in 2030.
Diocese of Portsmouth, where Bishop Philip Egan turns 75 in 2030.
Diocese of Northampton, where Bishop David Oakley turns 75 in 2030.
There should also be appointments of new auxiliary bishops in Birmingham, Southwark, and Westminster.
Any patterns?
Perhaps the most noteworthy pattern in English episcopal appointments is the tendency for auxiliary bishops to rise through the ranks, becoming heads of dioceses.
The most striking example is Bishop Stephen Wright, who went from a Birmingham auxiliary to Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle in little more than three years.
The three archdioceses of Birmingham, Southwark, and Westminster are the primary training grounds for diocesan bishops. It’s therefore worth keeping an eye on the following auxiliaries:
Birmingham: Bishop David Evans (71), Bishop Timothy Menezes (55), and Bishop Richard Walker (64).
Southwark: Bishop Paul Hendricks (69).
Westminster: Bishop James Curry (65), Bishop Paul McAleenan (74).
But for diocesan bishop appointments, age also seems to be an important factor. The average age of bishops installed in English dioceses since 2020 is 65.
The pope, the Vatican’s Dicastery for Bishops, and the nuncio seem to focus on candidates who are around 63 to 67, though there have been exceptions.
The appointments process for England has appeared to stutter in recent years.
The two abortive nominations to the Diocese of Plymouth, in December 2023 and September 2024, represented major setbacks and raised questions about vetting procedures for vacancies.
The difficulties in Plymouth followed the resignation in December 2022 of Bishop Robert Byrne as the Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle.
Byrne’s almost four-year tenure was heavily criticized in a June 2023 safeguarding review.
It seems likely that in England, as in other Western countries, a significant proportion of priests who are asked to become bishops decline the role.
Cardinal Marc Ouellet, head of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Bishops, said in 2023 that around 30% of priests worldwide decline episcopal appointments. This would make the quest to fill English vacancies considerably harder.
Meanwhile, the Catholic magazine The Tablet reported this week that Bishop David Oakley, who has led the Diocese of Northampton since 2020, has taken a leave of absence for unexplained personal reasons.
The report described Oakley as being “among the top candidates being considered to succeed Cardinal Vincent Nichols as Archbishop of Westminster,” which was striking as he has not featured on most media shortlists.
Bishop Nicholas Hudson, however, appeared on almost all lists and was considered a leading candidate for Westminster until his appointment to Plymouth.
Given Hudson’s Westminster candidate status, his transfer could be the first link in a chain of upcoming moves.
Certainly, his departure for Plymouth opens a second auxiliary vacancy in Westminster.
The next Archbishop of Westminster should therefore be able to choose two trusted collaborators to serve as his auxiliaries not long after his appointment.
Hudson’s relatively high profile suggested he might be chosen to lead a larger diocese than Plymouth.
Does his move to England’s south coast mean that neither Southwark’s Archbishop John Wilson (57) nor Birmingham’s Archbishop Bernard Longley (70) will be appointed as Archbishop of Westminster, leaving no other immediate vacancies at the archdiocesan level?
That is, of course, speculation. The big picture of English episcopal appointments is currently unclear.
There are only two things of which we can be certain: changes are afoot and the English hierarchy will look quite different in 2030 than it does today.