Pope congratulates new female Archbishop of England on taking office

Sarah Mullally during the ceremony of her installation as Archbishop of Canterbury. Photo: churchofengland.org

Pope Leo XIV sent a congratulatory message to Sarah Mullally in connection with her assumption of the office of "Archbishop of Canterbury," reports LifeSiteNews.

The publication notes that the new female archbishop of the Anglican Church is an ardent supporter of abortion and the LGBT agenda. However, in his congratulations, the pontiff praises Mullally's "important" duties and directly mentions the Blessed Virgin Mary as a source of "inspiration" for her new role.

"I know that the office for which you have been chosen is a weighty one, with responsibilities not only in the Diocese of Canterbury, but throughout the Church of England as well as the Anglican Communion as a whole… In asking the Lord to strengthen you with the gift of wisdom, I pray that you may be guided by the Holy Spirit in serving your communities, and draw inspiration from the example of Mary, the Mother of God," the message states.

Leo XIV quotes Pope Francis saying “it would be a scandal if, due to our divisions, we did not fulfil our common vocation to make Christ known,” and adds that he is willing to make these words his own.

The letter is dated March 20, 2026, and was published after the installation ceremony. LifeSiteNews emphasizes, "women cannot be priests and that the Anglican orders are 'absolutely null and utterly void.' So to pretend that this is somehow a blessed vocation and praise Mullally in it and invoke God’s blessing and the inspiration of the Blessed Virgin Mary on it is unspeakably evil."

As the UOJ wrote, in the Church of England, Sarah Mullally officially became Archbishop of Canterbury.

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