Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor - image Marcin Mazur CCN

Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor celebrates his 80th birthday today, Friday 24 August.

A celebratory Mass of thanksgiving in Westminster Cathedral this evening at 5.30pm to which everyone is invited.

Since leaving Westminster in 2009, the Cardinal has been kept very busy. His appointment to the Congregation for Bishops and the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples has been an important one - he has been directly involved in the appointment of bishops for England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland, as well as
for countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Americas and Oceania.

In 2010, he was appointed by the Holy See to oversee the Visitation of the Archdiocese of Armagh – a visitation intended to assist the local Church on her path of renewal.

He was sent to India in 2011 as the Holy Father's official representative to mark the Silver Jubilee of Pope John Paul II's historic visit. In November, he will travel to Bangladesh as the Papal legate to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the creation of the Diocese of Dhaka and 400 years of the presence of the Christian faith in this part of South Asia.

Reaching 80, the Cardinal ceases to be an active member of the Congregation for Bishops and the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples and all the other offices within the Roman Curia. He will no longer vote in any future Papal Conclave. He will remain a Cardinal and will hold the titular church of the Basilica of Santa Maria sopra Minerva until his death.

NOTE: ICN is on holiday but the full service resumes on 29 August.