Dame Sarah Mullally has been appointed as the new Archbishop of Canterbury, becoming the first woman to hold the Church of England’s most senior clerical position in its nearly 500-year history. The 63-year-old Bishop of London will assume spiritual leadership of the worldwide Anglican Communion’s 85 million members, marking a watershed moment for the established church.
The former nurse was the youngest person to be appointed chief nursing officer for England in 1999. Mullally, who is expected to make a statement at Canterbury Cathedral later on Friday, succeeds Reverend Justin Welby, who announced he would be stepping down over safeguarding failings almost a year ago.
The historic appointment comes after the Church of England endured nearly a year without permanent leadership following Justin Welby’s resignation in November 2024. The previous Archbishop of Canterbury resigned in November 2024 before officially stepping down in January this year, following the publication of the Makin Review which revealed he did not adequately follow up on reports about serial abuser John Smyth.
Breaking Through the Stained Glass Ceiling
Dame Sarah’s elevation to the role represents a remarkable journey for women’s leadership in the Church of England. Women were first ordained as priests in 1994, but it took another two decades before the first female bishops were appointed in 2014. On 22 July 2015, she was consecrated a bishop by Archbishop Justin Welby at Canterbury Cathedral. She and Rachel Treweek were the first women to be consecrated as bishops at Canterbury Cathedral.
As Bishop of London, she is the third most senior bishop in the Church of England, after the archbishops of Canterbury and York. Her appointment to that position in 2018 made her the first woman to hold the office, positioning her as a leading candidate for the Canterbury role.
Professor Helen King, an elected lay member of the Church of England General Synod, had warned before the announcement that failing to appoint a woman would be “a missed opportunity”. She said: “It’s been 10 years since we’ve had women bishops, and that means we’ve got women who have the experience to be archbishop.”
From NHS Leadership to Spiritual Guidance
Dame Sarah’s path to Church leadership began in healthcare rather than theology. Born Sarah Elisabeth Bowser on 26 March 1962, the younger of two daughters, she was educated at Winston Churchill Comprehensive School, Woking, Surrey, then at Woking Sixth Form College. While studying for A levels she decided to become a nurse rather than a doctor because she wanted to apply a holistic approach to patient care.
Mullally held clinical nursing posts at St Thomas’ Hospital and The Royal Marsden Hospital, where she completed their specialist nursing course. She held a number of nursing leadership roles, firstly at the former Westminster Hospital where she was a Ward Sister and head of practice development, and then as director of nursing at the Chelsea and Westminster, later becoming deputy and acting chief executive officer.
Her appointment as Chief Nursing Officer for England in 1999 saw her become the youngest person ever to hold the position. She served in this role until 2004, when she left to pursue full-time ministry in the Church of England. Mullally, who is married with two children, was made a Dame Commander of the British Empire in 2005 for her contribution to nursing and midwifery.
Safeguarding Reform at the Forefront
The new Archbishop inherits a Church grappling with its response to decades of safeguarding failures. The Church has been plagued by safeguarding controversies over the years, with Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell, who himself has also faced calls to quit over failures in handling abuse cases, admitting earlier this year that the Church has “failed greatly” on safeguarding.
Dame Sarah has previously been a strong voice on safeguarding reform. Following Welby’s resignation announcement, she stated: “Archbishop Justin’s decision today provides the urgent impetus we need to change the face of safeguarding in the Church of England. The crimes that John Smyth perpetrated were absolutely appalling. So too was the Church’s failure to act in response.”
Mullally is currently Bishop of Crediton and has been a leading voice for reform in bishops’ approach to safeguarding, urging the recommendations of an independent review into failings over one survivor, Gilo, be implemented by the Church of England. Survivors’ advocate Andrew Graystone described the appointment as potentially “a historic moment for the church, and a huge opportunity”, whilst warning that whoever was chosen would face significant challenges.
He told PA: “The new archbishop will be faced with declining church attendance, bloated management structures and clergy squabbling over what people do in the bedroom. But the biggest challenge for the new archbishop is to restore trust after a decade of abuse scandals.”
The Appointment Process
The selection of Dame Sarah followed an extensive process overseen by the Crown Nominations Commission (CNC), chaired by Lord Evans of Weardale, a former director-general of MI5. Under the Standing Orders of the General Synod, a nomination cannot be made to the Crown to fill a vacant see unless it has received the support of at least two-thirds of the total number of the voting members of the Commission in a secret ballot.
The Commission’s decision was then passed to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who is constitutionally responsible for advising The King on the appointment. He has no active role in the decision. Since 2007, the Prime Minister has accepted the CNC’s recommended candidate and tendered their name to the Monarch.
Dame Sarah will not legally take on the role until a confirmation of election in January 2025, with an enthronement service to follow after she has paid homage to the King.
Wider Challenges Ahead
Beyond safeguarding, the new Archbishop faces numerous challenges both within the Church and in wider society. The Church continues to grapple with divisions over same-sex relationships. While blessings for same-sex couples in civil partnerships and marriages were approved more than two years ago, there has been a failure to reach agreement on their use as part of standalone services.
Dame Sarah will also be expected to speak on broader social issues. The Church has been vocal on matters including child poverty, with Church leaders calling for the scrapping of the two-child benefit limit. Organisations working in the sector argue that 109 children across the UK are pulled into poverty by the policy every day and that an estimated 350,000 children would be lifted out of poverty immediately if it was scrapped.
On assisted dying legislation, Dame Sarah Mullally, Bishop of London, said the “choice” to die “is an illusion” without “fully-funded palliative and social care services” and insisted there are “no amendments to this Bill that can safeguard us completely from its negative effects.”
Leading the Anglican Communion
As Archbishop of Canterbury, Dame Sarah will serve as the spiritual leader of the Church of England and preside over the ecclesiastical province of Canterbury, which encompasses 30 dioceses in southern England. She will also serve as one of the 26 Lords Spiritual in the House of Lords, playing an active role in Parliament.
The archbishop, although without legal authority outside England, is recognised by convention as primus inter pares (“first among equals”) of all Anglican primates worldwide. Since 1867 the archbishop has convened more or less decennial meetings of worldwide Anglican bishops, the Lambeth Conferences.
Her appointment represents not just a breakthrough for the Church of England, but potentially for the wider Anglican Communion, where attitudes towards women’s ordination vary significantly across different provinces.
A Historic Moment
Dame Sarah’s appointment comes at a crucial juncture for the Church of England, as it seeks to modernise whilst maintaining its traditional role in national life. Her unique background, combining senior healthcare leadership with theological training and episcopal experience, positions her to bring fresh perspectives to ancient challenges.
Her choice of career was motivated by her Christian faith, which she has held since the age of 16. Now, nearly five decades later, she stands ready to lead the mother church of the Anglican Communion through what promises to be a transformative period.
The appointment sends a powerful message about women’s leadership in religious institutions globally. As the Church of England’s first female Archbishop of Canterbury in its 491-year history as a separate entity from Rome, Dame Sarah Mullally’s elevation marks not an endpoint, but a new beginning in the ongoing evolution of one of Christianity’s most influential denominations.
Follow for more updates on Britannia Daily
