{"id":17679,"date":"2026-01-28T08:06:55","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T16:06:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/?p=17679"},"modified":"2026-02-03T23:23:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T07:23:11","slug":"landmark-moment-as-dame-sarah-mullally-to-become-first-female-archbishop-of-canterbury-the-independent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/?p=17679","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;Landmark moment as Dame Sarah Mullally to become first female Archbishop of Canterbury&#8221;, The Independent"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">There were an estimated 1.02 million regular worshippers across the Church in 2024, up from 1.01 million&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.the-independent.com\/author\/aine-fox\">Aine Fox<\/a>, Wednesday 28 January 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.the-independent.com\/2026\/01\/28\/00\/6553b93611dee148c885c7a1730954d7Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzY5NTMxMDc1-2.82923960.jpg\" alt=\"Dame Sarah Mullally\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Dame Sarah Mullally<em>&nbsp;(PA Wire)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Dame Sarah Mullally, poised to become the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury, has said she will leave with &#8220;calmness, consistency and compassion&#8221; as she prepares for a historic confirmation service in London.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The groundbreaking appointment will see Dame Sarah legally assume her duties during a service at St Paul\u2019s Cathedral on Wednesday, ahead of her formal enthronement at Canterbury Cathedral in March.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Her elevation marks a significant moment for the Church of England, following nearly a decade as Bishop of London and a distinguished career as England\u2019s former chief nursing officer. She was officially named in October as the first woman to be selected for the Church&#8217;s highest clerical position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While, technically, the King is head of the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.the-independent.com\/topic\/church\">Church<\/a>&nbsp;of England, the person holding the role of Archbishop of Canterbury is the most senior bishop and is the spiritual leader of the Church and the worldwide Anglican Communion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.the-independent.com\/2026\/01\/28\/00\/ba436a6ab3137fe2c8055f3b6f79bbaeY29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzY5NTMxMTU1-2.83201981.jpg\" alt=\"Incoming Archbishop of Canterbury, Dame Sarah Mullally, talked with the King days before her confirmation of election (Joe Giddens\/PA)\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Incoming Archbishop of Canterbury, Dame Sarah Mullally, talked with the King days before her confirmation of election (Joe Giddens\/PA)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>There were an estimated 1.02 million regular worshippers across the Church in 2024, up from 1.01 million in 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Meanwhile, there are said to be 85 million people in more than 165 countries around the world forming the Anglican Communion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dame Sarah said: \u201cIt is an extraordinary and humbling privilege to have been called to be the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury. In this country and around the world, Anglican churches bring healing and hope to their communities. With God\u2019s help, I will seek to guide Christ\u2019s flock with calmness, consistency and compassion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThese 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 \u2013 and I pledge myself to this ministry of hospitality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI want us to be a Church that always listens to the voices of those who have been ignored or overlooked, among them victims and survivors of church abuse who have often been let down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI am committed to equipping the Church to be a kind and safe place that cares for everyone, especially those who are vulnerable, as we rise to the challenge of God\u2019s call to justice, equity, peace and the care of creation\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Between the St Paul\u2019s service and her installation at Canterbury Cathedral, Dame Sarah will meet with Prime Minister Sir&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.the-independent.com\/topic\/keir-starmer\">Keir Starmer<\/a>and the leaders of other&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.the-independent.com\/topic\/christian\">Christian<\/a>&nbsp;denominations and other faiths in the UK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She will also meet with&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.the-independent.com\/topic\/charles\">Charles<\/a>&nbsp;at some point in the intervening period, to pay the traditional homage to the King.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On Sunday, she was pictured speaking with Charles after she delivered a sermon at a service on his Sandringham Estate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While she will not preach at Wednesday\u2019s service, nor before her installation in March, she will appear at General Synod \u2013 the Church\u2019s parliament \u2013 in February in London where she will give the presidential address.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.the-independent.com\/2026\/01\/28\/00\/6553b93611dee148c885c7a1730954d7Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzY5NTMxMDc1-2.82923960.jpg\" alt=\"Dame Sarah Mullally will take part in a service at St Paul\u2019s Cathedral in London (Gareth Fuller\/PA)\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Dame Sarah Mullally will take part in a service at St Paul\u2019s Cathedral in London (Gareth Fuller\/PA)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>On being named last year, Dame Sarah promised to tackle safeguarding failures in the Church, saying the \u201cdynamics of power\u201d must be confronted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She replaces&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.the-independent.com\/topic\/justin-welby\">Justin Welby<\/a>&nbsp;in the Church\u2019s top ministry role after he resigned more than a year ago over safeguarding failures in the handling of the notorious case of prolific abuser and Christian camp leader John Smyth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Earlier this month, a complaint against Dame Sarah over her handling of an abuse allegation by a man known as survivor N against a priest in the Diocese of London was dismissed, although it is understood the complainant might appeal against the decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dame Sarah has been described by the Church\u2019s lead bishop for safeguarding, Joanne Grenfell, as having \u201cfull commitment to safeguarding \u2013 strengthening systems and processes, and improving the culture across a large, complex organisation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There were an estimated 1.02 million regular worshippers across the Church in 2024, up from 1.01 million&nbsp; Aine Fox, Wednesday 28 January 2026 Dame Sarah Mullally, poised to become the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury, has said she will leave with &#8220;calmness, consistency and compassion&#8221; as she prepares for a historic confirmation service in London.&nbsp; The [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1001004,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17679"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1001004"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17679"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17679\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17703,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17679\/revisions\/17703"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17679"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17679"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17679"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}