Dame Sarah Mullally appointed first female Archbishop of Canterbury

Next Archbishop of Canterbury: Sarah Mullally

Source: Lambeth Palace, CBCEW

His Majesty The King has approved the nomination of the Bishop of London, the Rt Revd and Rt Hon Dame Sarah Mullally, as the next Archbishop of Canterbury, Downing Street has announced today. The 106th Archbishop of Canterbury since Saint Augustine arrived in Kent from Rome in 597, Bishop Sarah will be the first woman to hold the office. She will be installed in a service at Canterbury Cathedral in March 2026.

Sarah Mullally has been the Bishop of London since 2018, the first woman appointed to that role, and before that was Bishop of Crediton in the Diocese of Exeter.

Prior to her ordination in 2001, she was the Government's Chief Nursing Officer for England - the youngest person ever to be appointed to that role at the age of 37 - having previously specialised as a cancer nurse. Bishop Sarah has described nursing as "an opportunity to reflect the love of God".

The Crown Nominations Commission (CNC) for Canterbury nominated Bishop Sarah following a process of public consultation and prayerful discernment that began in February this year. The Canterbury CNC was made up of representatives from across the Church of England, global Anglican Communion and the Diocese of Canterbury.

The most senior bishop in the Church of England, the Archbishop of Canterbury's ministry combines many roles including serving as the Diocesan Bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury, Primate of All England and Metropolitan, as well as primus inter pares - or first among equals - of the Primates of the global Anglican Communion, which consists of around 85 million people, across 165 countries. In the House of Lords, the Archbishop of Canterbury is one of 26 bishops who comprise the Lords Spiritual.

Bishop Sarah 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.

"I want, very simply, to encourage the Church to continue to grow in confidence in the Gospel, to speak of the love that we find in Jesus Christ and for it to shape our actions. And I look forward to sharing this journey of faith with the millions of people serving God and their communities in parishes all over the country and across the global Anglican Communion.

"I know this is a huge responsibility but I approach it with a sense of peace and trust in God to carry me as He always has."

Cardinal Vincent Nichols said in a statement: "On behalf of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, I welcome the news of the appointment of Bishop Sarah Mullally as the next Archbishop of Canterbury.

"She will bring many personal gifts and experience to her new role. The challenges and opportunities facing the new Archbishop are many and significant. On behalf of our Catholic community, I assure her of our prayers.

"Together we will be responsive to the prayer of Jesus that we 'may all be one' (John 17:21) and seek to develop the bonds of friendship and shared mission between the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church."

The Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, said: "I'm delighted that Bishop Sarah Mullally has been appointed as the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury and the very first female in the role. She is a person of huge courage, wisdom, integrity, and experience. In the many challenges the Church of England faces at the moment, we need the kind, godly and stable leadership Bishop Sarah will bring. It will be my great pleasure to serve alongside her, and I hope that together we can continue the work of helping the Church of England be simpler, humbler and bolder in its proclamation of the good news of Jesus Christ and in our service to the nation."

The Rt Revd Jonathan Baker, Bishop of Fulham, said: "During her tenure as Bishop of London, Bishop Sarah has always shown the greatest respect for the different theological traditions which coexist within the Church of England. In London in particular, she has generously supported my ministry and enabled the flourishing of traditional Catholic parishes and clergy across the Diocese. Now that she has been called to be the next Archbishop of Canterbury, she has the assurance of my prayers. May God grant to Bishop Sarah wisdom, courage and joy in her new ministry."

Born in Woking in 1962, Bishop Sarah became a Christian at the age of 16. Before being ordained, Bishop Sarah worked as a nurse in the National Health Service, which she has described as "an opportunity to reflect the love of God".

She specialised as a cancer nurse and, at the age of 37, became the Government's Chief Nursing Officer for England, the youngest person ever to be appointed to the post. Bishop Sarah was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in recognition of her outstanding contribution to nursing. She was ordained in 2001 and served her curacy in the Diocese of Southwark, initially as a self-supporting minister, before leaving her government post in 2004.

In 2012, she was installed as Canon Treasurer at Salisbury Cathedral and three years later took the role as Suffragan Bishop of Crediton in the Diocese of Exeter. On 12 May 2018, Bishop Sarah was installed as the 133rd Bishop of London at St Paul's Cathedral, the first woman to hold the role. Bishop Sarah is married to Eamonn, and they have two grown-up children, Liam and Grace.

LINK

Read an extended biography:

www.churchofengland.org/about/governance/archbishops/archbishop-canterbury-designate-sarah-mullally