The installation service is on Wednesday 26 March at 3pm and will be live on BBC One and the Church of England’s YouTube channel here.
The order of service is here.
3 October 2025 – Dame Sarah Mullally, Bishop of London, chosen as the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury. In her first address, delivered in Canterbury Cathedral on the same day, Dame Sarah said: “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. Today I give thanks for all the women and men — lay and ordained; deacons, priests and bishops — who have paved the way for this moment. And to all the women that have gone before me. Thank you for your support and your inspiration.”
3 October 2025: Article on Who is Sarah Mullally? by Tim Wyatt, author of “Archbishop Sarah Mullally: And ten urgent challenges for the Church of England”, published by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd. Book link here. He tells the story of a teenager from a Christian family, who sees her first profession as a nurse, and her second as a priest, to be a continuation of her calling to serve. She became the youngest chief nursing officer for England and was appointed a dame in 2005 for her contribution to nursing and midwifery. Now, in an historic first, she is the first woman to hold the role as Archbishop of Canterbury. She is not known to be aligned with any faction in the current divided Church of England. She is known to be a practised administrator with a steady hand, who modernised the Diocese of London, where she was bishop for eight years. She is married to Eamonn, an IT and “enterprise architect”, who she met when they were students together in London. They have two children, Liam and Grace. Tim’s article is here.
3 October 2025: Religion Media Centre briefing: Courage and pastoral care – gifts of Sarah Mullally, first female Archbishop of Canterbury. Discussion on her pastoral style as she inherits deep divisions over same-sex blessings, strengthening safeguarding processes, and resistance from those who doubt a woman can hold authority in the role. Speakers include: Tim Wyatt, Catherine Pepinster, Prof Helen King, Rev Dr Charlie Bell, Ven Miranda Threlfall-Holmes, Rev Martine Oborne, Rev Cathrine Ngangira, Rev Angela Sheard, Susie Leafe, Edward Nickell, Rev Dr Ian Paul, Rev Canon John Dunnett, Justin Humphreys, Peniel Rajkumer, Bishop Sophie Jelley and Winnie Varghese. Links to the YouTube recording and podcast via here >>
5 October 2025: Compilation of quotes Reaction to Sarah Mullally’s appointment, from bishops and other faith and political leaders:
“My WhatsApp was absolutely full on Friday of people, particularly women from around the world, just so delighted that there is no sort of stained glass ceiling now.”
“It just feels so momentous.”
“I think we had hoped as a new archbishop to be able to move the church forward in safeguarding practices, but I’m not sure that this does that.”
11 December 2025: Next Archbishop Sarah Mullaly faces complaint over handling of abuse allegation
The Times reports that a complaint against the next Archbishop of Canterbury, Dame Sarah Mullaly, over her handling of an abuse allegation in 2020, is being formally considered by Church of England officials. Lambeth Palace acknowledge the complaint against her was not followed up “due to administrative errors and an incorrect assumption about the individual’s wishes”. The article suggests the complaint could lead to a disciplinary tribunal. Dame Sarah told The Times: “We must have trust in our systems, or else we cannot expect others to put their trust in us.” – on 9 January 2026, she was cleared. On 26 January, : The CofE’s lead safeguarding bishop, Joanne Grenfell, backed Sarah Mullally saying she was fully committed to taking the next steps towards greater independence in safeguarding across the church. And she had taken care to listen and act in the past.
1 January 2026: Dame Sarah Mullally publishes New Year message calling for better access to health and social care in the community to ease the “severe strain” on the NHS. Times story here
17 January 2026 Farewell Service: A special Eucharist and farewell service was held at St Paul’s Cathedral for Dame Sarah, who left after eight years service. Pics and copy here
20 January: Incoming archbishop defends £100m scheme addressing historic impact of slavery Dame Sarah Mullally defends the scheme “Project Spire”, which will distribute £100 million in grants to communities which continue to experience the impact of slavery. In an open letter to 27 Conservative MPs who urged her to scrap the scheme and spend the money on parishes instead, Dame Sarah said “Project Spire does not diminish the Church’s support of or investment in parish ministry or clergy… Our calling to confront historic injustice and our commitment to sustaining parish life therefore both flow from the same Gospel imperative: to love our neighbour as ourselves and to enable all to flourish.”
23 January: Safeguarding, sexuality and money: the challenges facing Archbishop Sarah Mullally – an article by Tim Wyatt on the archbishop’s daunting task ahead as the CofE faces propblems on multiple fronts – crumbling buildings, falling numbers of clergy and financial pressures. Nationally, the church is weary of safeguarding failures and deeply divided over same-sex blessings, with opponents already withholding funding, and plans for a parallel structure of bishops only just pulled back from the brink.
28 January: Dame Sarah Mullally confirmed as the first female Archbishop of Canterbury in a legal ceremony with ancient tradition, requiring oaths and signatures, at St Paul’s Cathedral. There were many contributions from women lawyers and clergy, and from the Anglican church across the globe, and the legal cermeony was held within the setting of a service, with prayers and choral music. The Bishop of Dover, Rose Hudson Wilkins, who aids the Archbishop by taking a leading role in the Diocese of Canterbury, said it was a “habemus mamam moment” – meaning “we have a mother”.
Tuesday 4 February: RMC Briefing on the new Archbishop of Canterbury and the challenges of a divided church
Discussing these issues with With Tim Wyatt, Susie Leafe, Director of Anglican Futures; Dr Andrew Atherstone, also author of a book on Sarah Mullally; Francis Martin, Church Times reporter; Rev Alex Frost, from Burnley, campaigning for more working-class clergy; Rev Dr Charlie Bączyk-Bell, forensic psychiatrist and priest, LGBTQ+ campaigner; Rev Chantal Noppen, national coordinator Inclusive Church; Sam Wilson, parish youth minister in Chester Diocese; Dr Ros Clarke, Associate Director of Church Society. Links to the YouTube recording and podcast via here >>
Tuesday 4 February: Archbishop of Canterbury makes oath of allegiance to the sovereign, acknowledging the King as the supreme governor of the Church of England, a ceremony going back to Elizabeth I. Afterwards she said she was grateful for the King’s support: “I give thanks for His Majesty’s deep Christian faith, demonstrated in his life of service to our nation and the Commonwealth.”
Wednesday 5 February: The Archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally, was reintroduced to the House of Lords, taking her seat in her new role, as one of the 26 Lords Spiritual.
Wednesday 5 February: The Archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally, welcomed the Prince and Princess of Wales to Lambeth Palace, her new office and residence as the Archbishop of Canterbury. They discussed the contribution of churches around the country to their communities, and the Prince and Princess’s work through The Royal Foundation. It was confirmed that they will attend the installation of the archbishop at Canterbury Cathedral on Weds 25 March. In advance of this, the Prince of Wales later let it be known to The Times that: “I might not be at church every day but I believe in it, I want to support it and this is an important aspect of my role and the next role and I will take it very seriously, in my own way”. He will be the supreme governor of the Church of England when he accedees to the throne.
Monday 9 February: The Church of England’s general synod opened in London with a standing ovation to the new Archbishop of Canterbury.Sarah Mullally. She was greeted by her colleague Stephen Cottrell, the Archbishop of York, who said: “It seems good to us and to the Holy Spirit, that a chief nurse would make a very, very good chief shepherd”.
Tuesday 10 February: Sarah Mullally made her first address to the church’s parliament, the general synod, in London, emphasising her commitment to a “serious and focussed approach” to safeguarding saying it is a “fundamental, non-negotiable responsibility”. She will approach her role with “calm, consistency and compassion” and said the church should “aspire to treat one another with love, dignity and respect”.
Saturday 14 February: Dame Sarah took part in the service for the installation of the new Archbishop of Westminster, Richard Moth, standing before him at Westminster Cathedral saying their traditions “are deepened when we walk together in charity, honesty and truth”. She paid tribute to his reputation for “faithful pastoral care, a commitment to justice and a deep concern for the dignity of every person”.
6 March: Gafcon, the global conservative Anglican movement set up in opposition to progressive changes in the Anglican communion, including the ordination of women and their consecration as bishops, pulled back from moves to elect a leader “the first among equals”, which would have rivalled the Archbishop of Canterbury. The decision surprised commentators who were expecting changes which would have added up to a schism. Anglican Ink, a conservative news website, described this as a “u-turn in structure and strategy” which appeared without warning.
Sunday 9 March: Sarah Mullally gave her only interview since being appointed, to the Rev Kate Bottley for the BBC’s Songs of Praise, said she ‘didn’t quite believe it’ when chosen to be Archbishop of Canterbury and asked the person calling her, to repeat it. The interview was recorded for International Women’s Day, and she reflected on the speed of change in the Church of England, from allowing women to be ordained priests in 1994, to a woman being appointed archbishop in 2025. Opposition to women priests is one cause of a split in the worldwide Anglican Communion, but Dame Sarah said she offered generosity to those people and saw her role as a shepherd enabling ministry of others to flourish. See the interview again here
Sunday 9 March: Trading London for the Garden of England – we talked to three clergy in the Canterbury diocese, in Whitstable, Faversham and Canterbury, about their hopes and expectations for the new leadershsip of the Archbishop of Canterbury. They hoped for “a reconnection between the local and the centre”, said “a glass ceiling has come tumbling down”, and wished that “she feels at home and finds the place affirming”. Christine Rayner reports here >>
Monday 17 March Dame Sarah Mullally began a six day pilgrimage from London to Canterbury as part of her spiritual preparation for her installation as Archbishop of Canterbury on 25 March. The “Becket Camino” route took her from St Paul’s Cathedral, Southwark, Rochester, Aylesford Priory, the Shrine of St Jude in Faversham and Chartham, arriving at Canterbury on Sunday 23 March for evensong. Lambeth Palace said it was the first time in modern history that an Archbishop of Canterbury had undertaken a pilgrimage of this nature in the lead-up to their installation.
Tuesday 18 March: Archbishop Sarah broke off her pilgrimage to return to the Hosue of Lords for a debate on a measure which removes criminal penalties for women who end their own pregnancies at any stage up to birth. She was among eleven Lords Spiritual and said the bill “undoubtedly risks eroding the safeguards and enforcement” of the 24 week abortion limit, “inadvertently undermining the value of human life”. But the measure went through by 185 votes to 148.
Sunday 22 March: Arrives at Canterbury Cathedral and attends choral evensong, presented with a pilgrim’s token, commemorating her pilgrimage. In a message delivered as bombing continue in the Middle East, she said: “Our world today needs the love, healing and hope that we find in Jesus Christ. I continue to pray that we renew our confidence in this good news and recommit ourselves to sharing the joy of the Gospel.”
The installation service is on Wednesday 26 March at 3pm and will be live on BBC One and the Church of England’s YouTube channel here.
The order of service is here.
