First woman to lead Church of England in its 1,400-year history confirmed in ceremony January 29, 2026By Junno Arocho Esteves OSV News Filed Under: Ecumenism and Interfaith Relations, News, World News Archbishop Sarah Mullally was confirmed as the 106th archbishop of Canterbury and the Church of England’s first female to lead the Anglicans. “She is the first woman to hold the office in its 1,400-year history,” the Diocese of Canterbury said in a statement. Anglicans claim 1,400 years of history because they identify the Church of England not as a new entity created during the 16th-century Reformation, but as the continuation of the church established in England by a Catholic saint — St. Augustine of Canterbury — in A.D. 597. Archbishop Sarah Mullally was confirmed as the 106th archbishop of Canterbury and the Church of England’s first female to lead the Anglicans. “She is the first woman to hold the office in its 1,400-year history,” the Diocese of Canterbury said in a statement. Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury Sarah Mullally attends the confirmation of her election at St Paul’s Cathedral in London Jan. 28, 2026, where she officially became the 106th archbishop of Canterbury and is the first woman to lead the Church of England in its 1,400-year history. (OSV News photo/Jeff Moore pool via Reuters) Anglicans claim 1,400 years of history because they identify the Church of England not as a new entity created during the 16th-century Reformation, but as the continuation of the church established in England by a Catholic saint — St. Augustine of Canterbury — in A.D. 597. A “Confirmation of Election” ceremony was held in St. Paul’s Cathedral in London Jan. 28 which, according to the Anglican diocese, is a legal ceremony in which the bishop formally becomes the archbishop of Canterbury. Archbishop Mullally’s installation ceremony, which symbolically marks the beginning of her public ministry in the Church of England and the Anglican Communion, is scheduled for March 26 at Canterbury Cathedral. Her October appointment by King Charles III was welcomed by Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, who said the new Anglican archbishop would “bring many personal gifts and experience to her new role.” “The challenges and opportunities facing the new Archbishop are many and significant. On behalf of our Catholic community, I assure her of our prayers,” Cardinal Nichols said. Ordained an Anglican priest in 2002, Archbishop Mullally had served as bishop of London since 2018 before her appointment. She succeeded Archbishop Justin Welby, who resigned in 2024 after he was implicated in covering up a sexual abuse case. Archbishop Mullally called her new role an “extraordinary and humbling privilege” in a statement released Jan. 28 by the Diocese of Canterbury. “These are times of division and uncertainty for our fractured world. I pray that we will offer space to break bread together and discover what we have in common — and I pledge myself to this ministry of hospitality,” she said. In an interview with the BBC published the same day of her confirmation, the archbishop addressed the abuse crisis that led to her predecessor’s resignation and recognized the need for safeguarding and “greater scrutiny on me and the actions that I have undertaken.” “I will reiterate my commitment to safeguarding, particularly to listening to the victims and survivors of abuse,” she said, noting that “over the years, and London is evidence of this,” she increased resources for “safeguarding, ensuring that our procedures are better and also pastoral to people.” While the archbishop’s appointment as the first woman to lead the Church of England was welcomed by many, some within the Anglican Communion openly opposed it, even at the ceremony. According to the BBC, the ceremony was briefly interrupted by a heckler who was promptly escorted from the cathedral. Conservative Anglican leaders in Africa, including Nigeria, Uganda and South Sudan, issued a statement expressing dismay and that the Church of England has “chosen a leader who will further divide an already split Communion.” The Oct. 3, 2025, statement, signed by Bishop Laurent Mbanda, chairman of the Global Anglican Future Conference, known as GAFCON, said a majority of Anglicans were opposed to the naming of a woman as spiritual leader of the Church because of the belief “that the Bible requires a male-only episcopacy.” The Anglican bishop also denounced Archbishop Mullally’s support for blessing same-sex marriages. For her part, Archbishop Mullally said that while she has received support, she acknowledged that in her secular career as a chief nursing officer, and as a bishop, she “experienced misogyny at times.” “I’m conscious that, being in this role, it’s important for me to speak of (misogyny), because there are some that don’t necessarily have the status or power of this role, and feel more hesitant to do it. I commit myself to making an environment where all people can flourish and which is safer for all,” the archbishop told the BBC. 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