Archbishop Sarah Mullally and Cardinal Kurt Koch praying together. (Photo: Lambeth Palace/Neil Turner)
Pope Leo XIV and the newly installed Archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally, have exchanged messages affirming their shared commitment to Christian unity, as plans were confirmed for her visit to Rome next month.
The correspondence came a day after Mullally was formally installed at Canterbury Cathedral as the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury and the first woman to hold the office in the Church of England’s history.
Her installation marked the beginning of her public ministry as leader of the Church of England and spiritual head of the Anglican Communion.
Lambeth Palace said Archbishop Mullally will travel to Rome from April 25 to 28, where she is expected to have an audience with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
In a letter sent for her installation, the Pope assured the Archbishop of his prayers and expressed the hope that she would “be guided by the Holy Spirit” and inspired by the “example of Mary”.
Responding, Archbishop Mullally thanked him for his prayers and said she too was committed to serving the cause of Christian unity, describing her role as one of fostering communion within the Anglican family while seeking the fuller unity of the wider Church.
She also said she looked forward to meeting the Pope soon and to deepening the friendship and common purpose shared by Anglicans and Roman Catholics.
The Pope’s message was presented at Canterbury by Cardinal Kurt Koch, Prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, during events surrounding the archbishop’s installation.
The exchange took place against a strongly ecumenical backdrop.
A service of prayer with the Roman Catholic delegation was held to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the 1966 Common Declaration – the landmark statement that helped launch a new phase in relations between the Anglican and Roman Catholic Churches after the meeting of Archbishop Michael Ramsey and Pope Paul VI.
The morning after the installation, Archbishop Mullally and Cardinal Koch also prayed together at the site of the martyrdom of St Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral, echoing the visit made in 1982 by Pope John Paul II with Archbishop Robert Runcie.
Those present at the prayer service included senior Anglican and Roman Catholic representatives, including Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell, Secretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity Archbishop Flavio Pace, and the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Representative to the Holy See, Bishop Anthony Ball of the Anglican Centre in Rome, which was founded to strengthen relations and shared work between the two churches.
In his message, Pope Leo echoed words of the late Pope Francis who had said that Christian division must not prevent a common witness to Christ.
He said the Gospel is proclaimed most clearly through the witness of a “reconciled, fraternal and united” Christian community.
In remarks following the service, Archbishop Mullally reflected on six decades of Anglican-Roman Catholic dialogue, saying the meeting between Paul VI and Michael Ramsey had opened a path “that continues to bear fruit” through friendship, theological engagement and shared witness.
She also pointed to the continuing work of ARCIC and IARCCUM, the main international bodies devoted to dialogue and unity between the Anglican and Catholic Churches.
“We pray that the Holy Spirit will continue to guide us into all truth, deepen our fellowship, and lead us ever closer to the visible unity for which Christ prayed,” she said.
The renewed emphasis on Christian unity comes at a significant moment for Archbishop Mullally, who begins her ministry amid considerable challenges for the Church of England and the wider Anglican Communion.
Her installation on the Feast of the Annunciation drew about 2,000 guests, including the Prince and Princess of Wales, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, and church leaders from across Britain and the global Church.
In her installation sermon, which took the theme of Jesus as the Good Shepherd, Archbishop Mullally spoke of hope rooted in the incarnation and in God’s continuing presence with His people.
She also acknowledged the pain caused by safeguarding failures in the Church and called for truth, compassion, justice and action.
Her arrival in office has been welcomed by supporters who regard her as an experienced and unifying leader, though she also takes up the role at a time of tension within the Anglican Communion, with some conservative groups refusing to recognise her authority.
