First Female Archbishop of Canterbury to Meet Pope Leo XIV

New Archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally, is traveling to Rome this weekend for an audience with Pope Leo XIV. 

This visit marks Mullally’s first trip abroad since her enthronement last month as the first woman to lead the world’s 85-million-strong Anglican community.

The four-day visit, starting Saturday, occurs exactly 60 years after the historic 1966 meeting between Archbishop Michael Ramsey and Pope Paul VI, which was the first high-level encounter since King Henry VIII’s 16th-century break with Rome. 

While relations have improved over the decades, Mullally’s visit comes at a significant moment, as the ordination of women remains a primary point of "new disagreements" noted by their predecessors in 2016. 

The 63-year-old former nurse, who is married with two children, represents a major shift in the Church of England, which has allowed female bishops since 2014. 

By contrast, the Catholic Church has repeatedly rejected female priesthood and maintains the rule of priestly celibacy, except for married Anglican converts.

Campaigners for women’s rights, who had hoped for progress under the late Pope Francis, have welcomed the visit. 
Sylvaine Landrivon, spokeswoman for the Catholic feminist association Magdala, told AFP, "If a female archbishop comes to see him, it might give Pope Leo XIV pause for thought. 

He might realise that women, who represent half of God's people, have the same abilities as men."

The visit also follows six months after King Charles III became the first Supreme Governor of the Church of England to pray with a pontiff. 

Pope Leo XIV, who will mark his one-year anniversary in office on May 8, previously expressed hope in a letter for a "reconciled, fraternal and united Christian community." 

Bishop Anthony Ball, the archbishop’s representative to the Holy See, described the meeting as "an important opportunity to build and establish a personal relationship" alongside institutional ties.

Mullally has already praised the Pope’s "courageous call" for peace following U.S. President Donald Trump’s criticism of the pontiff’s stance on the Middle East war. 

Bishop Ball noted that both leaders face shared challenges, including immigration, poverty, the environment, and clerical abuse scandals. 

Mullally’s predecessor, Justin Welby, resigned over failures in handling such a scandal and both churches face internal tensions between conservative and progressive factions over issues like gay marriage and liturgy.

Mullally’s own appointment remains divisive within the Anglican Communion due to her gender and her supportive stance on same-sex marriage, drawing strong criticism from conservative African archbishops. 

However, Bishop Ball expects Pope Leo to be "respectful" of her role and does not expect her to push the issue of female ordination within the Catholic Church. 

"I think she will be resistant to being co-opted into somebody else's agenda, particularly in another church that isn't her own," Ball said, adding, "She's got more than enough on her plate with the Anglican Communion."

As Leo XIV inherits a church divided over the reforms initiated by the charismatic Argentine Pope Francis, Ball observed that both the Pope and the Archbishop have proven to be "quite careful listeners." 

He concluded that Leo is "taking his time to listen to people, to hear, and to try and discern ways of ensuring that people can move forward together. And I think Archbishop Sarah is similar in that regard."