Pope Leo XIV welcomes Archbishop Sarah Mullally’s installation, urging continued Catholic–Anglican dialogue grounded “in truth and love.”
Newsroom (26/03/2026 Gaudium Press ) In a message marked by warmth and candor, Pope Leo XIV has extended his prayerful greetings to Archbishop Sarah Mullally on the occasion of her installation as the Archbishop of Canterbury, assuring her of continued dialogue “in truth and love.”
The Pope’s message was read on Thursday, 26 March, in Canterbury Cathedral, at the conclusion of a service of common prayer presided over jointly by Archbishop Mullally and Cardinal Kurt Koch, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity. The service, attended by a delegation of Catholic and Anglican leaders, marked not only the formal beginning of Archbishop Mullally’s primatial ministry but also the 60th anniversary of the historic 1966 meeting between Pope Paul VI and Archbishop Michael Ramsey.
A Landmark Moment for Christian Leadership
Archbishop Mullally’s installation liturgy—often described as an enthronement—took place at Canterbury Cathedral on 25 March, in front of an estimated 2,000 guests, including the Prince and Princess of Wales. The ceremony, steeped in centuries-old ritual, signals the beginning of her public ministry as spiritual leader of both the Church of England and the worldwide Anglican Communion.
In his message dated 20 March 2026, issued from the Vatican on the Memorial of Saint Cuthbert, the Pope acknowledged the “weighty” responsibilities entrusted to the new archbishop. He noted that her ministry begins “at a challenging moment in the history of the Anglican family,” and offered a prayer that she may be strengthened by wisdom and guided by the Holy Spirit, drawing inspiration from Mary, the Mother of God.
Recalling Six Decades of Dialogue
The Pope drew a direct line between this moment and the 1966 encounter in Rome, when Saint Paul VI and Archbishop Ramsey inaugurated a “new stage” in Catholic–Anglican relations, rooted in Christian charity. That encounter would ultimately give rise to the Anglican–Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC), the body charged with theological dialogue between the two communions.
“Over the past six decades,” Pope Leo wrote, “that fresh chapter of respectful openness has borne much fruit and continues to this day.” He praised ARCIC for contributing to mutual understanding and fostering an effective common witness amid the “manifold challenges” confronting humanity.
Facing Differences with Honesty
Yet, Pope Leo also spoke candidly about the ebbs and flows of the ecumenical movement. He echoed the words of his predecessors—Pope Francis and Archbishop Justin Welby—who in their 2016 Joint Declaration acknowledged “new circumstances and new disagreements.”
“These differences,” Pope Leo affirmed, “cannot prevent us from recognizing one another as brothers and sisters in Christ by reason of our common baptism.” True Christian unity, he continued, must be pursued “in truth and love,” since only through these gifts can believers “come to know together the grace, mercy and peace of God” and offer them to the world.
Unity for the Sake of the Gospel
The Pope emphasized that the unity Christians seek is not an end in itself but a witness to the Gospel. Quoting the prayer of Jesus from John 17:21, he reminded the faithful that unity exists “so that the world may believe.”
He further invoked Pope Francis’s address to the Anglican Primates in 2024, warning that divisions among Christians could obscure their shared mission of making Christ known. “It would be a scandal,” the Pope said, “if, due to our divisions, we failed to fulfill our common vocation.”
Uniting his voice with that of his predecessor, Pope Leo reiterated that the most powerful proclamation of the Gospel arises from “a reconciled, fraternal and united Christian community.”
Symbols of Continuity
Thursday’s liturgy in Canterbury was rich in historical resonance. For the occasion, participants used the same kneeler first employed in 1982 during the meeting between Pope John Paul II and Archbishop Robert Runcie, a potent sign of continuity in the ongoing journey toward unity.
The Catholic delegation present included leading figures in international dialogue: Archbishop Flavio Pace, Secretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity; Cardinals Vincent Nichols and Timothy Radcliffe; Archbishops Bernard Longley, Richard Moth, John Wilson, and Leo Cushley; Bishop Kenneth Nowakowski of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in the UK; and Ante Vidović, chargé d’affaires of the Apostolic Nunciature in London.
Hope in “Truth and Love”
Concluding his message, Pope Leo XIV invoked divine blessing upon Archbishop Mullally as she begins her tenure. His closing words carried the tone of both encouragement and commission: that through dialogue grounded in truth and love, the two communions might continue moving toward the visible unity for which Christ himself prayed.
“Grace, mercy, and peace,” the Pope wrote, “will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son—in truth and love.”
- Raju Hasmukh with files from Vatican News
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