Sarah Mullally has been appointed as the Archbishop of Canterbury, becoming the first woman to hold the position in the nearly 500-year history of the Church of England.
Her appointment, approved by King Charles, took effect on Friday, October 3. She will serve as the spiritual leader of about 85 million Anglicans worldwide.
Mullally, 63, was ordained Bishop of London in 2018, making her the church’s third most senior bishop after the archbishops of Canterbury and York.
Before entering the clergy, she worked as a nurse in London hospitals and rose to become England’s chief nursing officer and director of patient experience in the National Health Service.
The church had been without a leader for almost a year following the resignation of Justin Welby over his handling of a child abuse case.
After a public consultation process that began in February, the Crown Nominations Commission, CNC, recommended Mullally for the post.
She became England’s youngest chief nursing officer at 37 in 1999 and in 2018 was the first woman appointed Bishop of London at St Paul’s Cathedral.
Sarah Mullally emerges first female Archbishop of Canterbury