Nurse turned archbishop celebrates leading Church of England
A former cancer nurse who became a priest at the age of 40 will be installed as archbishop of Canterbury on Wednesday, publicly celebrating her election as the first woman to lead the Church of England.
Although Sarah Mullally, 63, formally became the archbishop of Canterbury in January, On Wednesday’s event marks the beginning of her public ministry as both the head of the Church of England and spiritual leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The communion is an association of independent churches, including the Episcopal Church in the US, that together have more than 100 million members. “I intend be a shepherd who enables everyone’s ministry and vocation to flourish, whatever our tradition,’’ Mullally said when named last year.
“Today I give thanks for all the women and men … 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.” The ceremony will be attended by Prince William, Princess Catherine, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and representatives from many of the communion’s 42 member churches. Representatives from the Vatican and the Orthodox church will also attend.
In a nod to Mullally’s historic appointment, the service is taking place on the Feast of the Annunciation, which marks the moment Mary was told she had been chosen to be the mother of Jesus. It is a day on which the church says it celebrates “one of the great women of the Bible and thinks about how we can respond to God’s call.”
The celebration marks a major milestone for the Church of England, which traces its roots to the year 597, when the pope sent St. Augustine to Britain to convert the population to Christianity.
He is now recognised as the first archbishop of Canterbury. The English church broke away from the Roman Catholic Church in the 1530s, during the reign of King Henry VIII.
