THE work of an Archbishop of Canterbury is “complex and difficult”, but additionally “quite simple”, the Bishop of London, the Rt Revd Sarah Mullally, said in her first address after being nominated as the subsequent Archbishop of Canterbury.
“Along with my brother and sister bishops, I’m called to share the hope that we now have present in Jesus Christ and what meaning for us all, as individuals and as a society,” Bishop Mullally told an audience of church leaders, local schoolchildren, and journalists.
She was speaking in Canterbury Cathedral, where a service of installation is attributable to happen in March 2026. Her formal election by the Dean and Chapter, which is yet to return, shall be confirmed in St Paul’s Cathedral on 28 January. At that time, she officially receives the “spiritualities” of her latest see.
A former Chief Nursing Officer for England, Bishop Mullally said that “washing feet has shaped my Christian vocation: as a nurse, then a priest, then a bishop.
“In the apparent chaos which surrounds us, within the midst of such profound global uncertainty, the potential for healing lies in acts of kindness and love.”
Her address, which lasted about quarter-hour, referred to conflicts all over the world, within the Middle East and Africa and elsewhere, and the “horrific violence” of yesterday’s attack on a synagogue in Manchester.
“We are witnessing hatred that rises up through fractures across our communities,” she said, and the Church has “a responsibility to be a individuals who stand with the Jewish community against antisemitism in all its forms. Hatred and racism of any kind can’t be allowed to tear us apart.”
“Given the numerous struggles of our Church and of societies here and all over the world, I’m often asked where I see hope,” Bishop Mullally said. She found it within the “quiet hum of religion in every community, the gentle invitation to return and be with others, and the welcome prolonged to every one”, she said.
“In an age that craves certainty and tribalism, Anglicanism offers something quieter but stronger: shared history, held in tension, shaped by prayer, and lit from inside by the glory of Christ. That is what gives me hope.”
The UK was “wrestling with complex moral and political questions”, she said, including those of “our response to people fleeing war and persecution to hunt safety and refuge” and of “communities who’ve been neglected and undervalued”.
She also referred to the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, against which she has led opposition within the House of Lords (News, 12 September).
When she was Bishop of Crediton, Bishop Mullally played a component in implementing safeguarding reforms (News, 8 April 2016). In her address on Friday morning, she said that, while safeguarding was “everyone’s business”, senior leaders bore an “added weight of accountability”.
“As a Church, we now have too often didn’t recognise or take seriously the misuse of power in all its forms. As Archbishop, my commitment shall be to be certain that we proceed to hearken to survivors, look after the vulnerable, and foster a culture of safety and well-being for all.”
Since her ordination in 2001, while she was still working for the NHS, there had been a “significant skilled and cultural shift in safeguarding”, she said.
“Our history of safeguarding failures have left a legacy of deep harm and mistrust, and we must all be willing to have light shone on our actions, no matter our role within the Church.”
In an email to the diocese of London, where she has held office since 2018, Bishop Mullally wrote that her nomination to Canterbury was an “extraordinary honour”, but additionally “tinged with profound personal sadness, as I begin to soak up what I shall be abandoning. My seven years with you within the Diocese of London have truly been a joy.”
Bishop Mullally began the day in Canterbury by meeting staff and volunteers at a community larder. This afternoon, she is attributable to meet pupils and staff at The Archbishop’s School. She may also visit a hospice before returning to the cathedral for choral evensong.
