The woman who now leads 85 million Anglicans worldwide spent years as a nurse in the National Health Service.

Sarah Mullally, 63, was enthroned Wednesday as the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury — the first woman to hold the office since St Augustine established it in 597 AD. The former nurse took her seat in the 13th-century Chair of St Augustine before 2,000 guests, including the Prince and Princess of Wales and Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Mullally’s path to the highest office in the Church of England was unconventional. She spent years in the National Health Service before ordination. The clasp on the golden cope she wore Wednesday was fashioned from her old nurse’s belt buckle — a quiet nod to the career she left behind.

She inherits a church still wounded by scandal. Her predecessor, Justin Welby, resigned in 2024 over his handling of a serious abuse case. In her first sermon, Mullally acknowledged “the pain experienced by those who have been harmed through the actions, inactions, or failures of those in our own Christian churches and communities.”

The ceremony fell on the Feast of the Annunciation, when Christians remember Mary being told she would bear Jesus. “As I look back over my life - at the teenage Sarah, who put her faith in God and made a commitment to follow Jesus - I could never have imagined the future that lay ahead,” Mullally said.

Not everyone celebrated. Some traditionalist provinces, particularly in Africa and Asia, oppose women’s ordination. Several Primates skipped the ceremony. But 26 church leaders from across the Anglican Communion did attend, including five of the first female bishops from Africa.

Women have only been permitted to become priests in the Church of England since 1994. Mullally just proved how far that permission can extend.

Sources