Lord Mayor of Westminster awarded papal knighthood

Rigby will become a Knight of St Gregory, an honour first established in 1831 and granted for service to the Church or in public life.

Lord Mayor of Westminster Robert Rigby has been awarded a papal knighthood, achieving the highest honour that can be given a lay Catholic by the Holy See.

Rigby will become a Knight of St Gregory, an honour first established in 1831 and granted for service to the Church or in public life.

Educated at Ampleforth, Rigby, 63, was elected to Westminster City Council in 2010. He is a former chair of the Catholic Union and lifelong Catenian. He has spoke publicly about how important his Catholic faith is to his life and the Cardinal Hume centre is one of the mayoral charities he is supporting.

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He spent his working life in sales and marketing in the travel industry, including 20 years with Japan Airlines when he met his wife Emiko – the first Japanese Lord Mayoress of Westminster. His chaplain is Father Christopher Colven, past Rector of St James’s Church, Spanish Place, in Marylebone, and currently Catholic Chaplain to the Houses of Parliament.

Rigby said: “I am very deeply honoured to receive this award. The Benedictine rules of listening and humility have been twin pillars of my life – though they are not often characteristics you come across in politics.

“As Lord Mayor you are the first citizen for 210,000 people from a whole range of backgrounds, cultures, and faith. For me it was important to demonstrate how my own faith guides what I do, and why I think it is so important to be able to talk about my Catholic faith in public life.

“As Lord Mayor it has been my privilege to meet some remarkable Catholics who demonstrate their faith in action in a range of ways. I hope to keep doing the same, and this award really is a crowing accolade for me as a public and private person.”

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