Archbishop of Canterbury meets Pope Leo XIV at Vatican

Pope Francis Welcomes First Female Archbishop of Canterbury in Historic Vatican Meeting

Pope Leo XIV welcomed Archbishop of Canterbury Sarah Mullally to the Vatican on Monday, marking a significant moment in Anglican-Catholic relations as the two religious leaders prayed together despite longstanding theological differences between their churches.

The meeting, unthinkable just years ago, brought together two of Christianity’s most prominent figures in a display of ecumenical dialogue despite the “new problems” their relationship faces. Mullally’s recent appointment as the first female Archbishop of Canterbury has added fresh complexity to relations between the churches, given the Catholic Church’s position on reserving priesthood for men.

During their private encounter in the Pope’s library, Leo acknowledged the challenges but emphasized the importance of continued dialogue. “It would be a scandal if we did not continue to work towards overcoming our differences, no matter how intractable they may appear,” the Pope said, quoting his predecessor Pope Francis’s commitment to ecumenical progress.

The two leaders later shared a moment of prayer in the Urban VIII Chapel inside the Apostolic Palace. While the press was not permitted to attend, Vatican officials released photographs and video footage of the encounter, showing both religious figures in prayer together.

In her remarks to the Pope, Mullally stressed their shared mission to preach the Gospel with “renewed clarity” amid global challenges. “In the face of inhuman violence, deep division, and rapid societal change, we must keep telling a more hopeful story,” she said, emphasizing the need to “build bridges, never walls.”

Mullally’s four-day pilgrimage to Rome follows her installation last month and represents her first foreign visit in the role. Her itinerary has included visits to major pontifical basilicas, where she prayed at the tombs of Saints Peter and Paul and met with senior Vatican officials. Lambeth Palace described the visit as designed “to strengthen Anglican–Catholic relations through prayer, personal encounter, and formal theological dialogue.”

The meeting occurs against the backdrop of significant historical context. Anglicans split from Rome in 1534 when England’s King Henry VIII was refused a marriage annulment. Despite formal theological dialogue that began in the 1960s, substantial differences remain, particularly regarding the ordination of women, which the Anglican church embraced in 1994. The first female Anglican bishop was consecrated in 2015, leading to Mullally’s groundbreaking appointment this year.

George Gross, a theology and monarchy expert at King’s College London, underscored the meeting’s historical significance. “If we were to go back several hundred years, it’s unthinkable,” he noted. “It’s the fact that the pope is willing to meet, but in itself it also shows the difference, the gap.”

Gross suggested the prayer meeting demonstrated an attempt to project unity in confronting global conflicts, continuing momentum from King Charles III’s recent Vatican visit. “It’s a doubling down of togetherness,” he observed.

However, Mullally’s appointment has further divided the already fragmented Anglican Communion, which comprises approximately 100 million members across 165 countries. While many Western congregations celebrated her ascension as breaking a “stained-glass ceiling,” the communion’s largest and fastest-growing churches in Africa belong to the conservative Global Anglican Future Conference (Gafcon), which has strongly criticized her appointment and threatened a definitive break.

The Anglican Church in North America, which separated from more liberal Episcopal churches in the United States and Canada, has aligned with Gafcon’s opposition to Mullally. These tensions highlight the broader divisions within the Anglican Communion over women’s roles and LGBTQ+ inclusion.

During their meeting, Mullally mentioned to Pope Leo—who recently returned from a four-nation African tour—that she would soon be visiting Cameroon and Ghana. “Your pilgrimage to Africa was full of life and joy,” she told him. “It reminded us that despite our sufferings, people long for life in all its fullness.”

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the first formal ecumenical statement between Anglican and Roman Catholic Churches, signed in 1966 by Archbishop Michael Ramsey and Pope Paul VI. The continuing dialogue, despite persistent theological differences, represents both churches’ commitment to seeking common ground in an increasingly divided world.