A former chief nursing officer for England, Dame  Sarah Mullally, has been named the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury. 

She is the first woman to hold the Church of England’s most senior role.

Mullally succeeds Justin Welby, who announced his resignation in 2024 after criticism over his handling of abuse cases. 

King Charles and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer welcomed her appointment.

From Nurse to Archbishop

Mullally was appointed chief nursing officer for England in 1999. She was ordained in 2001 and left her government post in 2004, taking up a full-time ministry in the London borough of Sutton. She was made a Dame in 2005 in recognition of her outstanding contribution to nursing and midwifery.

Currently Bishop of London, Mullally will formally take office at a ceremony in Canterbury Cathedral in January, followed by an enthronement service later in the year.

Speaking in Canterbury Cathedral, in her first public address since being named on Friday, Mullally promised to tackle safeguarding failures in the Church, saying the “dynamics of power” must be confronted.

She said: “As a Church, we have too often failed to recognise or take seriously the misuse of power in all of its forms. As archbishop, my commitment will be to ensure that we continue to listen to survivors, care for the vulnerable, and foster a culture of safety and wellbeing for all.”

Faith in a Divided World

She has also emphasised the importance of faith “in our fractured and hurting world”, condemning the “horrific violence” of the recent Manchester synagogue terror attack.

During her address, she said the Church has a “responsibility” to stand with the Jewish community against antisemitism, adding: “Hatred and racism of any kind cannot be allowed to tear us apart.”

Mullally said British society is “wrestling with complex moral and political questions”, referring to the right to die, migration and national identity.

She said: “The legal right of terminally ill people to end their own lives, our response to people fleeing war and persecution to seek safety and refuge, the pressures on communities who have been overlooked and undervalued, the deep-rooted question of who we are as a nation, in a world that so often seems on the brink.”

Mullally has already been vocal in the House of Lords on the issue of assisted dying and will have a vote on the current Bill in the coming months.