Dame Sarah Mullally, who grew up in Woking, has been appointed as the next Archbishop of Canterbury – the first woman in history to hold the role.

The 63-year-old, currently Bishop of London, will succeed Justin Welby, who resigned in November 2024.

She described the position as a “huge responsibility” but said she felt a “sense of peace and trust in God to carry me.”

Before entering the Church, Dame Sarah had a distinguished career in healthcare. She served as the UK’s Chief Nursing Officer from 1999 to 2004 and was made a Dame Commander of the British Empire in 2005 for services to nursing and midwifery.

Ordained in 2001, she went on to become Bishop of Crediton in 2015 and was installed as the 133rd Bishop of London in 2018 – the first woman to hold that office.

Raised in Woking, Dame Sarah is married with two children.

She said: “As I respond to the call of Christ to this new ministry, I do so in the same spirit of service to God and to others that has motivated me since I first came to faith as a teenager.

“At every stage of that journey, through my nursing career and Christian ministry, I have learned to listen deeply - to people and to God’s gentle prompting - to seek to bring people together to find hope and healing.

“I want, very simply, to encourage the Church to continue to grow in confidence in the Gospel, to speak of the love that we find in Jesus Christ and for it to shape our actions.

“And I look forward to sharing this journey of faith with the millions of people serving God and their communities in parishes all over the country and across the global Anglican Communion.

“I know this is a huge responsibility but I approach it with a sense of peace and trust in God to carry me as He always has.”

Lord Evans, Chair of the Crown Nominations Commission for Canterbury, said: “It has been a great privilege to have chaired the Crown Nominations Commission as it sought to discern who God is calling to lead the Church of England and Anglican Communion as Archbishop of Canterbury.

“That discernment began with the public consultation, which heard the voices of thousands of people as they expressed their hopes for this nomination, and continued all the way through to the Commission’s final meeting.

“I would like to thank all those who took part in this process, particularly those who took time to share their views in the consultation and the members of the Commission who worked so diligently over several months, ably assisted by the Appointments Secretaries and by the Appointments and Vocations team at Lambeth Palace. I shall be praying for Bishop Sarah as she prepares to take up this new ministry in the coming months.”

Bishop Anthony Poggo, Secretary General of the Anglican Communion, said: "I welcome and commend the nomination of Bishop Sarah as the next Archbishop of Canterbury and invite the churches of the global Anglican Communion to pray for her as she prepares to take up this important ministry. May God grant her wisdom and discernment, as she seeks to listen to Member churches, encourage mutual support, and foster unity.

“The Anglican Communion Office is fully committed to supporting her ministry as she works with other Provinces and the Instruments of the Anglican Communion. Let us pray that God will pour out his spirit on the Anglican Communion to boldly share Christ's transformational love and the hope of the Gospel in today’s world.”