New Archbishop of Canterbury Sarah Mullally, the first woman to lead the world's Anglican Christians, heads to Rome and the Vatican this weekend for an audience with Pope Leo XIV.
Archbishop Mullally will meet the head of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics during a four-day visit starting on Saturday (April 25, 2026), her first abroad since being enthroned last month as the Church of England's top cleric.
The audience comes 60 years after a historic meeting in 1966 between then archbishop Michael Ramsey and Pope Paul VI, the first at that level since the Church of England was created in the 16th century, when king Henry VIII broke with Rome.
Pope Leo says God rejects prayers of leaders who wage wars
Relations have been steadily improving since, although in 2016 their successors noted "new disagreements", particularly on the ordination of women, making Archbishop Mullally's visit a significant moment.
