Archbishop of Canterbury and Pope Leo exchange messages of unity after installation

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 got here a day after Mullally was formally installed at Canterbury Cathedral because the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury and the primary woman to carry the office within the Church of England’s history.

Her installation marked the start 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 twenty-eight, where she is anticipated to have an audience with Pope Leo on 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 reason behind Christian unity, describing her role as certainly one of fostering communion inside the Anglican family while searching for the fuller unity of the broader Church.

She also said she looked forward to meeting the Pope soon and to deepening the friendship and customary 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 sixtieth anniversary of the 1966 Common Declaration – the landmark statement that helped launch a latest 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 location 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 on 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 2 churches.

In his message, Pope Leo echoed words of the late Pope Francis who had said that Christian division must not prevent a typical 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 many years 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 fundamental international bodies dedicated to dialogue and unity between the Anglican and Catholic Churches.

“We pray that the Holy Spirit will proceed 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 major moment for Archbishop Mullally, who begins her ministry amid considerable challenges for the Church of England and the broader 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 worldwide Church.

In her installation sermon, which took the theme of Jesus because the Good Shepherd, Archbishop Mullally spoke of hope rooted within the incarnation and in God’s continuing presence with His people.

She also acknowledged the pain brought on by safeguarding failures within the Church and called for truth, compassion, justice and motion.

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 inside the Anglican Communion, with some conservative groups refusing to recognise her authority.