For the primary time in additional than 1,400 years, Church of England will get a girl chief : NPR

[ad_1] <img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4048x2699+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fef%2Ffb%2F71594395492d83a945897a4d5bc9%2Fap26084597834303.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4048x2699+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fef%2Ffb%2F71594395492d83a945897a4d5bc9%2Fap26084597834303.jpg" class="img" alt="Sarah Mullally waves as she leaves after the Enthronement Ceremony installing her as archbishop of Canterbury in Canterbury, England, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. She is the first woman ever to lead the Church of England. " fetchpriority="high"/> Sarah Mullally waves as she leaves after the Enthronement Ceremony putting in her as archbishop of Canterbury in Canterbury, England on Wednesday, March 25, 2026. She is the primary lady ever to guide the Church of England. Alastair Grant/AP cover caption

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Alastair Grant/AP CANTERBURY – In a ceremony that has been happening for greater than 1,400 years, the Church of England has put in its new chief, the archbishop of Canterbury.

For the primary time in historical past, the brand new archbishop is a girl, Sarah Mullally. She turns into the 106th individual to carry the job.

The 90-minute ceremony started with Mullally knocking thrice on the west door of Canterbury Cathedral, earlier than being let in by native schoolchildren. It was attended by the Prince and Princess of Wales, and Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

In her sermon, Mullally alluded to her function as the primary feminine archbishop, saying: "As I look again over my life … I may by no means have imagined the longer term that lay forward, and positively not the ministry to which I'm now known as."

Mullally was appointed to the function final October. Within the week earlier than the set up, she walked 87 miles east from London to Canterbury, a journey immortalized in Geoffrey Chaucer's English literature traditional, The Canterbury Tales.

It is a historic second as a result of the Church of England has solely allowed girls to change into clergymen since 1994 and bishops since 2014.

In addition to changing into the pinnacle of the Church of England, Mullally is the religious chief of the Anglican Communion, which incorporates tens of thousands and thousands of Anglicans around the globe. The set up ceremony nodded to the function's world attain, with sections in languages, which included Spanish, Swahili and Urdu.

<img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/2049x1442+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Faa%2Fda%2Fde133a2f43b883c396cd4cdcc3f4%2Fap26084554325407.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/2049x1442+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Faa%2Fda%2Fde133a2f43b883c396cd4cdcc3f4%2Fap26084554325407.jpg" class="img" alt="The Archbishop of Canterbury Dame Sarah Mullally is greeted by local school children during the Enthronement Ceremony installing her as the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury, at Canterbury Cathedral, England, Wednesday March 25, 2026." loading="lazy"/> The Archbishop of Canterbury Sarah Mullally is greeted by native college youngsters throughout the Enthronement Ceremony putting in her because the 106th archbishop of Canterbury, at Canterbury Cathedral in England on Wednesday March 25, 2026. Gareth Fuller/Pool PA cover caption

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Gareth Fuller/Pool PA Mullally's appointment has not been with out controversy: one of many church's offshoots, the World Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans, has expressed its opposition.

Nevertheless, Stephen Cottrell, the archbishop of York – the second most senior bishop within the Church of England – advised NPR that the event marking Mullally's set up because the archbishop of Canterbury was a joyful one.

"I do not underestimate the problem that is for some folks within the Anglican Communion, however equally I do not assume we must always overplay that," Cottrell mentioned."I believe the world is rejoicing in the present day at what's taking place."

Reverend Emily Onyango, assistant bishop of the Diocese of Bondo, was the primary lady ordained as a bishop within the Anglican Church of Kenya. She advised NPR that management roles within the church could be more durable for girls.

"Most individuals have by no means seen a girl church chief … folks set such a excessive bar," Onyango mentioned. "Everyone thinks that try to be twice pretty much as good as the opposite bishops to be acknowledged so I believe it's fairly difficult."

Onyango was visiting the U.Ok. alongside fellow bishop, Vicentia Kgabe, the bishop of Pretoria. They're each members of what is often called the "Africa six." 5 members of the group of feminine Anglican bishops traveled to Canterbury for the ceremony.

"A few of us by no means thought in our lifetime, nor within the lifetime of the church, we would have a girl being elected and her saying sure to the appointment," Kgabe mentioned. "That could be a historic second."

"We're very excited and grateful to God that this has occurred," Onyango added. "We really feel affirmed, , by considered one of us being on the high of the church."

<img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/3712x2472+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F62%2Fea%2F7a3e9f8c4faebedf8faf0b622039%2Fap26084550740481.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/3712x2472+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F62%2Fea%2F7a3e9f8c4faebedf8faf0b622039%2Fap26084550740481.jpg" class="img" alt="Britain's Princess Kate and Prince William during the Enthronement Ceremony installing Dame Sarah Mullally as the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury, at Canterbury Cathedral, England, Wednesday March 25, 2026." loading="lazy"/> The Prince and Princess of Wales look on throughout the Enthronement Ceremony putting in Sarah Mullally because the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury, at Canterbury Cathedral in England on Wednesday March 25, 2026. Jordan Pettitt/Pool PA cover caption

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Jordan Pettitt/Pool PA Main as much as the ceremony, the Church of England has been in one thing of a disaster. The final archbishop, Justin Welby resigned in shame in November 2024 after he was severely criticized over the best way he dealt with a sexual abuse scandal within the church.

Madeleine Davies is a senior journalist for Church Instances, who has met Mullally on a number of events. She advised NPR Mullally's expertise as a senior nurse after which as Britain's chief nursing officer, ought to assist her within the job. "She at all times appears very calm, in management, self-contained," Davies mentioned. "She's bought fairly a peaceful presence, and I believe that might be reassuring to folks."

Davies says that some folks have criticized Mullally as "managerial," however suggests that is more likely to be a helpful character trait in her work. Mullally's duties contain serving to to wash up the church's picture, tackling falling congregation numbers, and taking care of lots of of cash-strapped church buildings throughout the UK.

"This isn't solely a centuries-old workplace, it is a millennia-old workplace," the bishop of Winchester, Philip Mounstephen, advised NPR, explaining that Mullally has change into the chief of one of many world's oldest establishments. "The workplace of Archbishop of Canterbury is older than the Crown of England," Mounstephen mentioned.

<img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/6000x4000+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F83%2Fa8%2Fbcfd3f1a4bb39d60a3b9d2bd044a%2Fap26084539837886.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/6000x4000+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F83%2Fa8%2Fbcfd3f1a4bb39d60a3b9d2bd044a%2Fap26084539837886.jpg" class="img" alt="The Primates of the Anglican Communion arrive ahead of the Enthronement Ceremony installing Dame Sarah Mullally as the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury, at Canterbury Cathedral, England, Wednesday March 25, 2026." loading="lazy"/> The Primates of the Anglican Communion arrive forward of the Enthronement Ceremony putting in Sarah Mullally because the 106th archbishop of Canterbury, at Canterbury Cathedral, England, Wednesday March 25, 2026. Jordan Pettit/Pool PA cover caption

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Jordan Pettit/Pool PA

For practically a thousand years, the Church of England was aligned with the Catholic Church, till King Henry VIII broke communion with Rome so as to break up and marry Anne Boleyn. At earlier intervals of historical past, the function used to contain giving political recommendation to the monarch. A number of archbishops had been killed through the years, notably Thomas Becket and Thomas Cranmer.

Whereas in the present day's archbishops of Canterbury are much less influential than previously, they do have a seat in Parliament's Home of Lords, and infrequently give ethical management by way of statements to the media.