The 63-year-old takes over as leader at a difficult time for the Church of England, which has been embroiled in multiple sexual abuse scandals.
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A woman has been named Archbishop of Canterbury for the first time, with Sarah Mullally appointed as the 106th person to lead the Church of England.
Mullally, who served for almost eight years as the bishop of London, is a former chief nursing officer for England.
The new 63-year-old archbishop takes over at a difficult time for the Anglican Church, which has been strongly criticised in recent years for its handling of various sexual abuse scandals.
Her predecessor Justin Welby resigned in November after an independent investigation found that he did not tell police as soon as he discovered serial physical and sexual abuse had been perpetrated by a volunteer at Christian summer camps.
The appointment of the first female Archbishop of Canterbury comes a decade after the church announced its first female bishop in 2015. Women were first allowed to become Anglican priests in 1994.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer congratulated Mullally and wished her success in her new role.
“The Church of England is of profound importance to this country,“ Starmer said. ”Its churches, cathedrals, schools and charities are part of the fabric of our communities. The Archbishop of Canterbury will play a key role in our national life.”
Meanwhile, Stephen Cottrell, the Archbishop of York, said he was “delighted” by Mullally’s appointment.
“She is a person of huge courage, wisdom, integrity and experience,” he wrote. “In the many challenges the Church of England faces at the moment we need the kind, godly and stable leadership Bishop Sarah will bring.”
In a statement released after her appointment, Mullally described how she came to faith as a teenager.
“At every stage of that journey, through my nursing career and Christian ministry, I have learned to listen deeply — to people and to God's gentle prompting — to seek to bring people together to find hope and healing," Mullally said.
”I know this is a huge responsibility but I approach it with a sense of peace and trust in God to carry me as He always has,” she added.
The new archbishop will lead a church that has more than 85 million members spread across 165 countries. Although each nation has its own leader, she will be seen as first among equals.