Sarah Mullally has made history as the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury by becoming the first woman to lead the Church of England. The 63-year-old’s enthronement at Canterbury Cathedral on 25 March 2026 broke a 500-year tradition, marking the formal start of her public ministry.
Around 2,000 guests filled the ancient cathedral, including the Prince and Princess of Wales, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and leaders from other Christian traditions. Also present were nurses and carers from Canterbury, to reflect Dame Sarah’s long career as a nurse.
All 105 previous archbishops of Canterbury have been men, starting with St. Augustine in 597 AD. Women were only allowed to become priests in the Church of England 32 years ago, in 1994.
She said her teenage self “could never have imagined the future that lay ahead” during her installation as leader of the Church of England.
“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, and certainly not the ministry to which I am now called, she said.”
Born in 1962 in Woking, Surrey, Sarah Mullally grew up in a church-going family and became a Christian at 16. She was educated at Winston Churchill Comprehensive School and then at Woking Sixth Form College.
In 1980, she began studying for a nursing degree at South Bank Polytechnic, with clinical placements at St. Thomas’ Hospital, and was awarded joint Registered General Nurse (RGN) status and a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree in 1984. In 1992, she completed a Master of Science (MSc) degree in interprofessional health and welfare studies at London South Bank University.
At just 37, she became the youngest person ever appointed chief nursing officer for England. She later received a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire for her services to nursing and midwifery. While building her career in the National Health Service, she studied theology part-time and was ordained as a priest in 2002. She moved into full-time parish ministry in 2004.
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In 2015, she became bishop of Crediton in the Diocese of Exeter—one of the first women to serve as a bishop after the Church of England allowed female bishops. She was appointed bishop of London in 2018, the third most senior position in the Church of England. She served in that role until she was elected archbishop of Canterbury.