The Archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally, arrived at the Vatican on Monday (April 27, 2026) for an audience with Pope Leo XIV, making her first foreign visit since being installed as the first woman leader of the Church of England and spiritual leader of millions of Anglicans around the world.
Archbishop Mullally, whose appointment has split the already divided Anglican Communion, arrived early to meet with Pope Leo in his library. Later, they were to go to into the Urban VIII Chapel inside the Apostolic palace for what the Vatican said would be a “moment of prayer.”
Archbishop Mullally is on a four-day pilgrimage to Rome that has included visits to the main pontifical basilicas, where she has prayed at the tombs of Saints Peter and Paul and met with top Vatican officials.
Lambeth Palace says her visit is designed “to strengthen Anglican–Roman Catholic relations through prayer, personal encounter, and formal theological dialogue. It aims to deepen bonds of communion, affirm a shared witness, and encourage ongoing collaboration at both global and local levels.”
Anglicans split from Rome in 1534, when English King Henry VIII was refused a marriage annulment. Despite a formal theological dialogue that began in the 1960s, big differences remain, especially over the Church of England’s decision to ordain women. The Roman Catholic Church reserves the priesthood for men.
