For the first time in its nearly 500-year history, the Church of England has appointed a woman to serve as archbishop of Canterbury, the most senior role in the Anglican Communion. U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer approved the nomination on Friday.
Sarah Mullally, the bishop of London, will be installed into the role in March 2026 at Canterbury Cathedral.
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She will be the first female archbishop of Canterbury since women were allowed to become bishops in 2014. In the role, Mullally will lead a global Anglican community of around 85 million people across 165 countries.
Starmer said Mullally would play “a key role in our national life,” noting he looks forward to working with her.
“The Church of England is of profound importance to this country. Its churches, cathedrals, schools, and charities are part of the fabric of our communities,” Starmer said in a statement.
Who is Sarah Mullally?
Before entering the clergy, Mullally worked as a specialist cancer nurse, where she rose to become the government’s youngest-ever chief nursing officer for England. She was ordained in 2001 and became the first female bishop of London in 2018.
In a statement following her appointment, Mullally said:
“As I respond to the call of Christ to this new ministry, I do so in the same spirit of service to God and to others that has motivated me since I first came to faith as a teenager…At every stage of that journey, through my nursing career and Christian ministry, I have learned to listen deeply — to people and to God’s gentle prompting — to seek to bring people together to find hope and healing.”
Background: A leadership change after scandal
Mullally’s appointment follows the resignation of former Archbishop Justin Welby, who stepped down earlier this year amid the fallout from a church abuse scandal.
He resigned after an independent investigation found he failed to alert authorities about a serial abuser who preyed on more than 100 young boys and men at Christian holiday camps across two continents. The abuse remained secret until 2017 — four years after Welby had been informed.
Welby announced his resignation “in sorrow,” saying he had “sought the gracious permission of His Majesty The King.”
