Sarah Mullally becomes 1st woman to lead Church of England
Mullally, 63, a married mother of two, officially becomes 106th archbishop of Canterbury
The Rt Revd and Rt Hon Dame Sarah Mullally attends the service of Confirmation of Election for the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury at St Paul’s Cathedral in London, United Kingdom, on January 28, 2026. The service is the legal and liturgical act by which the Archbishop-Elect formally becomes the Archbishop of Canterbury. Bishop Sarah Mullally was elected by the College of Canons of Canterbury Cathedral on November 25, 2025. The Confirmation of Election is a legal process conducted within an act of worship.
LONDON
Sarah Mullally was confirmed Wednesday as the first woman to lead the Church of England in its 1,400-year history, becoming the 106th archbishop of Canterbury.
The 63-year-old’s appointment was formally recognized by ecclesiastical judges in a ceremony at St. Paul's Cathedral in London.
"A profound service of Confirmation of Election today, it reflected the diversity of the Anglican Communion and the Church of England," the married mother of two said in a video statement shared on the US social media company X’s platform.
In October 2025, the Church of England announced that Mullally, the Bishop of London and a former cancer nurse, would become the next archbishop of Canterbury, in succession to Justin Welby.
It came after Welby resigned in November 2024 following accusations that he did not do enough with information he had about a prolific child abuser to prevent further abuse from taking place.
