Will an ex-nurse as the church’s first female Archbishop of Canterbury help its medicine go down?

While most in the Church of England will welcome Sarah Mullally breaking its stained-glass ceiling, her appointment may not sit so well with some conservative congregations – nor those who believe questions about the safeguarding scandal that haunted her predecessor remain unanswered, says Catherine Pepinster

Just hours before the new Archbishop of Canterbury was announced, one Church of England cleric quipped: “Three people have told me that they know on good authority who it is, and then they gave me three different names.”

Lord Evans of Wearsdale – the former head of MI5, Jonathan Evans, who chaired the Crown Nominations Commission that recommended Sarah Mullally for the post to the prime minister – will have been delighted that the intelligence never leaked before the formal announcement that the role has gone to the first woman to hold the position.

The choice of Mullally, who has been Bishop of London for almost eight years, is in many ways a predictable one: a former chief nurse in the NHS, for which she received her damehood, she has shown herself to be a highly capable administrator. She has also helped the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, run the Church of England since the shock resignation of Justin Welby following a safeguarding scandal 10 months ago.

Choosing Mullally is, in effect, choosing a safe pair of hands.

Yet despite that, the 17-strong commission has failed to avoid controversy, so much so that I wonder whether it actively decided this was a moment, after Justin Welby stepped down so dramatically, that the Church of England needs to tough things out.

Choosing Sarah Mullally is, in effect, choosing a safe pair of hands (PA)

They will know that a huge constituency will welcome a woman breaking the stained-glass ceiling in such a spectacular way. The Church of England first allowed women to be ordained to the priesthood 30 years ago, with women bishops only appointed in Welby’s time – so no woman could have been appointed to the top role until now.

But there will also be conservatives who will not wish to see this – including several bishops in this country who will not receive Communion from a woman, and plenty within African nations. And given that the Archbishop of Canterbury plays such a significant role in the 85-million-strong worldwide Anglican Communion – not a pope by any means, but primus inter pares among the other primates – this could well be problematic.

Some of those protesters may well dislike the support she has previously given for special prayers for same-sex blessings. Then there are relations with other Christian denominations, notably the Orthodox churches and the Roman Catholic Church.

To see Mullally, with crozier in hand, processing to an altar in Rome with Pope Leo – as previous archbishops of Canterbury have done with other popes – will be a historic moment. If it happens, it will be controversial for many; if it doesn’t, it could be perceived as a snub by Anglicans.

Mullally, in her role as Bishop of London, already knows Catholic clerics and has worked alongside Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the Archbishop of Westminster. Within an hour of her appointment, he welcomed it, talking of her gifts, but also the significant challenges awaiting her.

And those challenges are enormous, not least the decline in churchgoing.

Just 1.02 million of the English population attended Anglican services in 2024, while the 2021 Census showed that for the first time, less than half the population of England and Wales said that they were Christian.

But the biggest shadow hanging over the Church of England remains problems over safeguarding and dealing with child sex abuse cases. They haunted Welby’s time in office – and led to his demise.

Abuse survivors are already expressing concern about Mullally, given the controversial safeguarding issues she has been involved with. But in her statement this morning, following her appointment, she admitted to the harm and mistrust caused by safeguarding in the Church of England, saying: “We must all be willing to have light shone on our actions, regardless of our role in the Church.”

Her new role, as she said herself, is complex and challenging. But it is also straightforward, as she put it: it’s about offering people hope. Mullally, at 63, has seven years ahead of her in charge. The Church of England has had enough of rollercoasters. Its members will be hoping that this calm, compassionate former nurse will come up with the right medicine for its ills.