In a historic moment for the Anglican Church, former nurse and midwife Sarah Mullally, 63, was officially enthroned as the Archbishop of Canterbury on Wednesday, becoming the first woman to lead the centuries-old mother church of the world’s 85 million-strong Anglican community.
The enthronement ceremony took place at Canterbury Cathedral in southeast England, attended by approximately 2,000 people, including Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales. Following tradition, Mullally knocked three times with a staff on the cathedral’s west door to request admission, before being greeted by local schoolchildren. She responded: “I am sent as archbishop to serve you, to proclaim the love of Christ and with you to worship and love him with heart and soul, mind and strength.”
Mullally, dressed in deep yellow-gold robes, was then seated in two thrones symbolizing her dual role: as bishop of the diocese of Canterbury and as the spiritual leader of Anglicans worldwide. She succeeds Justin Welby, who resigned in November 2024 following criticism over his handling of a decades-old abuse scandal within the Church of England.
The 106th Archbishop of Canterbury highlighted her commitment to church reform, stating she will “do all I can to ensure that the Church becomes safer and responds well to victims and survivors of abuse.” She emphasized the church’s ongoing efforts to be trauma-informed and responsive to survivors.
Mullally’s appointment follows a distinguished career in Britain’s National Health Service, where she served more than three decades and became the chief nursing officer for England in 1999. She was ordained as a priest in 2002 and became the first female Bishop of London in 2018, just four years after the Church of England began allowing women bishops.
While some branches of the Anglican Communion have long accepted women in senior clergy roles—starting in the United States in 1989—others, including the Anglican Church of Rwanda, continue to restrict episcopal positions to men. In England today, more than 40 of the 108 bishops are women, reflecting the growing role of female clergy since the early 1990s.
Mullally, married with two children, now assumes responsibility not only for the spiritual leadership of Anglicans worldwide but also for fostering reform, inclusion, and accountability within one of the world’s oldest and most influential Christian institutions.