Sarah Mullally, a onetime nurse who became the first female Anglican bishop of London, was named on Friday as the 106th archbishop of Canterbury, making her the spiritual leader of 85 million Anglicans worldwide and the first woman to occupy a history-laden post, established more than 1,400 years ago.
Archbishop-designate Mullally will succeed Justin Welby, who resigned from the position last November under pressure, after the publication of a report that said he had failed to pursue a proper investigation into claims of widespread abuse of boys and young men decades ago at Christian summer camps.
A former cancer nurse who served as a health administrator and the chief nursing officer for England, Archbishop-designate Mullally, 63, is a vocal exponent of the rights and role of women in the Church of England. She has been the bishop of London since 2018, having been ordained as a priest in 2002.
The appointment of a woman was not a total surprise. The rumored short list of candidates had included two other female bishops. But the naming of Archbishop-designate Mullally thrusts the church into a new era, potentially sowing tensions within the far-flung Anglican Communion, to which the Church of England, as well as the Episcopal Church in the United States, belong.
Other bishops in that body are more conservative on women’s rights and other social issues than those in the Church of England. The church itself has been cleaved between reformers and traditionalists on issues like same-sex marriage.
Speaking from the altar at Canterbury Cathedral after her appointment was announced, Archbishop-designate Mullally thanked women who had served in the church before her for being path-breakers, and she offered an inclusive answer to those who would ask what a female archbishop might mean.
“I intend to be a shepherd who enables everyone’s ministry and vocation to flourish, whatever our tradition,” she said in a soft-spoken 10-minute address, in which she extended a hand to the global Anglican community and condemned the terrorist attack on a synagogue on Thursday in Manchester, England.
“We’re witnessing hatred that rises up through fractures across our communities,” Archbishop-designate Mullally said. Pledging that the church would stand in solidarity with Britain’s Jewish community, she said, “Hatred and racism of any kind cannot be allowed to tear us apart.”
She also vowed to repair the damage done by the abuse scandal, which she said had “left a legacy of deep harm and mistrust.”
“As a church we have too often failed to take seriously the misuse of power in all its forms,” she said. “This will not be easy. We must all be willing to have light shone on our actions, regardless of our role within the church.”
Archbishop Welby’s resignation brought an abrupt end to a hectic tenure in which he had presided over momentous public ceremonies like the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II and the coronation of King Charles III, and had become an impassioned public voice on contentious issues like immigration.
Though Archbishop Welby was not accused of any abuse himself, he was brought down by the same type of sex-abuse scandal that has toppled leaders of the Roman Catholic Church. He left behind a church tarnished by the scandal, but also deeply divided over whether it should recognize same-sex marriages, and struggling to fill its pews in an increasingly secular world.
For all of the history made, experts said Archbishop-designate Mullally is in some ways a safe choice. She has been involved in most of the major debates in the church. She will be 64 by the time she is formally installed next year, giving her only six years before she reaches the mandatory retirement age of 70.
“She’s very much a known quantity,” said Francis Martin, a staff writer at The Church Times in London, which covers the Church of England. “She’s not a surprise choice, even if a historic and unprecedented one.”
Experts said Archbishop-designate Mullally’s first task would be to restore the church’s credibility on the safeguarding of young people. She will also seek to repair rifts on same-sex marriage, assisted dying legislation and other disputes that have shadowed the church’s reputation.
“The Church of England has had quite a mauling in the public and the press,” said Andrew Atherstone, a professor of modern Anglicanism at the University of Oxford. “They are looking for an archbishop who can lead in the restoration.”
Professor Atherstone said he expected Archbishop-designate Mullally to be less of a globe-trotter than her predecessor, which might be sensible, given the strains in the Anglican Communion. Some of the more conservative Anglican bishops in Latin America, Asia and Africa have rejected the leadership role of the archbishop of Canterbury, who by tradition functions as a first among equals.
The new archbishop was chosen after a selection process as mysterious as the conclave that chose the new Roman Catholic pope, Leo XIV, but one that took considerably longer: nearly 11 months, compared with 17 days.
A 17-member Crown Nominations Commission — led by a former chief of Britain’s domestic intelligence agency, MI5, Jonathan Evans, and composed of bishops, representatives from the diocese of Canterbury, the Anglican Communion and the General Synod — began meeting in May to pare a list of candidates down to a short list.
After interviewing the finalists this past summer, the commission held its final meeting last week, at which the new archbishop won a required two-thirds vote. She was approved by King Charles, who is the supreme governor of the Church of England, and her appointment was announced by Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
In addition to her role in the church, Archbishop-designate Mullally has a seat in Britain’s House of Lords, which she first secured as bishop of London. If she follows the example set by Archbishop Welby, she could emerge as an important voice on issues like immigration and assisted dying.
She has already spoken out against new legislation that would allow terminally ill people to request assistance in ending their lives, a position that she has said is informed by her training as a nurse.
Archbishop Welby had navigated a bitter, yearslong debate in the church over how to treat same-sex marriage. The Church of England allows priests to bless same-sex couples, though it continues to debate a more formal recognition of these unions. Archbishop-designate Mullally subscribes to the church’s position that marriage is between a man and a woman, though she has urged a more inclusive tone.
Still, some experts say the cleavages over social issues run so deep in the church that no leader is likely to resolve them. Rather than try to heal the rifts, they said, the archbishop should focus on her role as the Primate of All England and worry less about trying to rein in a rebellious Anglican Communion.
“You can’t square circles forever,” said Diarmaid MacCulloch, an ecclesiastical historian and prominent expert on the Church of England at Oxford. “I would wish that the new archbishop wouldn’t try.”
Mark Landler is the London bureau chief of The Times, covering the United Kingdom, as well as American foreign policy in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. He has been a journalist for more than three decades.
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