Overview

• Britain announced on 3 October that King Charles III approved the appointment put forward by the College of Canons of Canterbury Cathedral.
• Sarah Mullally, 63, becomes the 106th archbishop and the first woman to head the Church of England as its spiritual leader worldwide.
• She succeeds Justin Welby, who resigned in November 2024 after a church inquiry found he did not promptly report an abuser linked to more than 130 victims.
• In her first remarks at Canterbury Cathedral, Mullally vowed to promote a culture of safety and wellbeing and stressed senior leaders’ responsibility for protection.
• A former nurse and England’s Chief Nursing Officer who later became Bishop of London in 2018, she supports blessings for same-sex couples, a stance that remains contested within the Communion.