Who Is Sarah Mullally, the Anglican Church’s First Female Leader?

LONDON—Sarah Mullally was named as the next Archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual head of the Anglican Church, on Friday, making her its first female leader in its nearly 500-year history. She replaces Justin Welby, who stepped down last year after a report concluded he didn’t do enough to bring a child abuser to justice.

Who is Mullally?

The 63-year-old is a former cancer nurse who joined the Anglican Church as a priest in 2001. In 2018, she became bishop of London, which is the third-highest role in the Church of England, becoming the first woman to hold such a senior role. Women were first ordained Anglican priests in England in 1994, and the first female bishop appointments followed in 2014. Mullally had previously served as the U.K. government’s chief nursing officer, advising the government on nursing matters. She says she became a Christian aged 16. She is married with two children.