Bishop Sarah Mullally has been named as the next Archbishop of Canterbury, the leader of the Anglican church. She will be the 106th Archbishop and the first woman to hold the role.
Her appointment was approved by King Charles III and announced by British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s office. Mullally will replace Justin Welby, who stood down after being involved in a cover up of a child abuse scandal.
As monarch, Charles is the supreme governor of the Church of England, a role established in the 16th century when King Henry VIII broke from the Catholic Church.
Sarah Mullally was, prior to ordination, the Government’s Chief Nursing Officer for England having specialised as a cancer nurse. She was educated at South Bank University, London, and Heythrop College, University of London, and trained for ministry at the South East Institute of Theological Education. She completed her title at St. Saviour Battersea Fields, in the Diocese of Southwark, and was ordained as a priest in 2002.
In 2006, Mullally was appointed Team Rector, Christ Church, Sutton, Southwark and then became Canon Residentiary and Treasurer at Salisbury Cathedral in 2012. In 2015, she was consecrated as Suffragan Bishop of Crediton, in the Diocese of Exeter, and in 2018 took up her current role as Bishop of London as well as Dean of the Chapels Royal from 2019.
As the new head of the Anglican Church Mullally will face opposition from the religious leaders of African nations who do not approve of women holding positions in the church, and will also face a the challenge of managing the church’s approach to many social issues.
The future Archbishop said she would be seeking to bring people together.
“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.” she said.
Around the world 85 million people follow the Anglican faith of which Mullally will be the ceremonial head. She has previously voiced her support for blessings of same sex couples in civil partnerships and marriages, and many other liberal causes.
The next stage in the process is for her appointment is an election by the Canons of Canterbury Cathedral. In January 2026, there will be a Confirmation of Election at St Paul’s Cathedral in London, at which Bishop Sarah will legally become the Archbishop of Canterbury.
In March 2026, there will be an Installation (sometimes referred to as an ‘enthronement’) at Canterbury Cathedral, which denotes and marks the start of the new Archbishop of Canterbury’s ministry.
