Dame Sarah Mullally has been named the first female Archbishop of Canterbury in the Church of England’s history.

A former top nursing officer for England, Dame Sarah has now been appointed as the Archbishop of Canterbury-designate. A legal ceremony in the coming months will formally confirm her as the Church’s leading bishop.

She has been chosen to succeed Justin Welby, who had to resign last year due to his inadequate response to the Church of England’s most severe child abuse scandal.

In her first address at Canterbury Cathedral this morning, Dame Sarah condemned yesterday’s ‘horrific’ terror attack at a synagogue in Manchester.

She expressed her thoughts: ‘In light of the horrific violence during yesterday’s attack on a synagogue in Manchester, we are witnessing hatred surfacing through the cracks in our communities. I believe that God, who is ever-present, draws near to those who are suffering.

‘Thus, as a Church, we have a duty to stand in solidarity with the Jewish community against all forms of antisemitism. Hatred and racism of any nature cannot be allowed to divide us.’

Dame Sarah mentioned her deep wish for the ‘transformative hope’ of Jesus Christ to reach those trapped in conflict and living in dire poverty, as well as those ‘on the forefront of the escalating climate crisis’.

‘For our Palestinian Christian brothers and sisters, and all the people in the Middle East,’ she stated. ‘For the citizens of Ukraine, Russia, Sudan, Myanmar, and the DRC. May God bring an end to the horrors of war, comfort those who grieve, and offer hope to those in despair.’

Dame Sarah Mullally will have to steer the church through a challenging time

Dame Sarah will take over as the Church’s top bishop at a difficult time of divisions, scandals and declining congregations

A formal installation ceremony will be held at Canterbury Cathedral in January

‘And I pray especially for Anglicans in those places, as they suffer alongside the people they seek to love and care for.’

Dame Sarah will have to steer the church through a challenging time – fraught with safeguarding scandals, divisions over same-sex marriage and dwindling attendance.

This morning, she acknowledged her task ‘will not be easy’.

‘Our history of safeguarding failures have left a legacy of deep harm and mistrust, and we must all be willing to have light shone on our actions, regardless of our role in the Church,’ she said.

‘Since my ordination, I have witnessed a significant professional and cultural shift in safeguarding. I know the National Safeguarding Team continues to work tirelessly alongside diocesan professionals and countless parish volunteers, to ensure that we are a Church that not only prevents abuse, but responds well when it is reported.’

Referring to her nursing past, she said ‘washing feet’ had shaped her Christian vocation.

‘With humility and grace, we uphold and support those in need of our help,’ she said. ‘We do this to the best of our ability, in small ways and big, according to our own very particular gifts. That too is the service which I offer to the Church today.’

Admitting she will ‘not always get things right’, Dame Sarah added: ‘Some will be asking what it means for a woman to lead the Church of England, and to take on the Archbishop of Canterbury’s global role in the Anglican Communion. I intend be a shepherd who enables everyone’s ministry and vocation to flourish, whatever our tradition.

In her first address at Canterbury Cathedral this morning, Dame Sarah addressed several current issues, including yesterday’s terror attack at a Manchester synagogue

Dame Sarah acknowledged that people will comment on her being the first female Archbishop of Canterbury, but said she will ‘shepherd’ the Church through difficult times

Dame Sarah is an outspoken opponent of the assisted dying Bill, and will have a say in its future as a member of the House of Lords

‘I humbly offer myself, and the gifts and experience that God has given me, in service to God’s world and God’s Church.’ 

Dame Sarah is the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury, with the role having been vacant since last November.

In a job description published earlier this year by the Diocese of Canterbury, it was stated the person filling the role should be someone of ‘the utmost integrity who is able to speak honestly’ about failures and injustices in the Church, and a ‘servant leader, who shows compassion towards the disadvantaged and marginalised’.

They must also be ‘unapologetic about offering a Christian perspective to local, national and international dialogue’, it added.

Bishop Anthony Poggo, Secretary General of the Anglican Communion, said: ‘I welcome and commend the nomination of Bishop Sarah as the next Archbishop of Canterbury and invite the churches of the global Anglican Communion to pray for her as she prepares to take up this important ministry.

‘May God grant her wisdom and discernment, as she seeks to listen to Member churches, encourage mutual support, and foster unity.

‘The Anglican Communion Office is fully committed to supporting her ministry as she works with other Provinces and the instruments of the Anglican Communion.

‘Let us pray that God will pour out His Spirit on the Anglican Communion to boldly share Christ’s transformational love and the hope of the Gospel in today’s world.’

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said: ‘I welcome the appointment of Dame Sarah Mullally as the new Archbishop of Canterbury and the first woman to hold the role.

‘The Church of England is of profound importance to this country. Its churches, cathedrals, schools, and charities are part of the fabric of our communities.

‘The Archbishop of Canterbury will play a key role in our national life. I wish her every success and look forward to working together.’

Dame Sarah will legally become Archbishop of Canterbury at a ceremony in Canterbury Cathedral in January, followed by a formal enthronement service at a later date where members of the royal family are likely to be present.

While making history as the first woman in the role, Dame Sarah will be seen by many as a safe pair of hands given her extensive experience.

She was ordained in 2001 and left her government post as chief nursing officer at the Department of Health 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.

As a member of the House of Lords, she will have a vote on the assisted dying Bill that is currently being considered. A strong opponent, she has warned that it ‘fails in its central plank, that it delivers choice’.

She told a debate in the Lords last month that ‘choice is an illusion’ and said she believed ‘no amendments to this Bill that can safeguard us completely from its negative effects’.

Dame Sarah is seen as progressive on the issue of same-sex blessings in the Church – a subject which has seen strongly competing opinions among Church members.

In 2023, after a vote to approve blessings, she described the result as a ‘moment of hope for the Church’ but recognised that differences of opinion remained.

In her first engagement as archbishop-designate, Dame Sarah visited a local church on Friday and helped pack food parcels ahead of the formal announcement.

During his time in the role, Mr Welby was vocal on issues of poverty, calling for the controversial two-child benefit cap to be scrapped, and had strongly criticised the previous Conservative government’s scheme to send asylum seekers to Rwanda, which he warned was ‘leading the nation down a damaging path’.