Basil Hume never wanted to be the leader of the English Catholic Church, but in 1976 the Pope thrust the diffident Abbot of Ampleforth into the limelight. This was the signal for the end of the "fortress mentality". Written by a former editor of the "Catholic Herald", this biography examines Cardinal Hume's time as Archbishop of Westminster and traces the role of the Catholic Church in English society and the radical changes of recent years.