The Bishop Sarah Mullally was elected this Friday as the first woman in history to assume the positions of Archbishop of Canterbury, spiritual leader of the Church of England and primate of the Anglican communion, which brings together an estimated 95 million believers in 165 countries around the world.
Mullally, who will be officially confirmed in the position next January, will replace Justin Welby, who announced his resignation in November 2024 after criticism for his handling of a case of sexual abuse of minors.
Welby was forced to resign, which took effect in January of this year, after an internal report revealed that, upon assuming office in 2013, he did not inform the Police of the repeated abuses committed by lawyer John Smyth in Christian camps during the 1970s and 1980s.
Mullally’s appointment was announced by the British Government following a selection process led by the Crown Nominations Commission, which conducted public consultations and involved representatives from the Church of England and the Anglican Communion.
The nomination was approved by King Charles III, who holds the symbolic title of Supreme Governor of the Church of England, and will be formally confirmed in January 2026 by the College of Canons of Canterbury Cathedral, in southeast England.
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Mullally’s appointment marks a historic milestone following advances in female inclusion in the Church of England, which began ordaining women priests in 1994 and female bishops in 2015.
Before her ordination, Mullally was the Government’s national nursing director for the region of England and was ordained as a priest in 2002, before becoming Bishop of London in 2018.
