Sarah Mullally was confirmed archbishop of Canterbury Jan. 28 at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, England. She became the first woman to hold the office in its 1,400-year history.

“It is an extraordinary and humbling privilege to have been called to be the 106th archbishop of Canterbury. In this country and around the world, Anglican churches bring healing and hope to their communities,” Mullally said ahead of her confirmation. “With God’s help, I will seek to guide Christ’s flock with calmness, consistency and compassion.”

The Common Declaration of Pope Paul VI and Archbishop Michael Ramsey in 1966, together with the Malta Report (1968), set the agenda for the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission, of which I was a member for many years. This agenda was nothing less than the restoration of full communion in faith and sacramental life between the two traditions. Since then, ARCIC has produced a succession of agreements on Eucharist, Ministry, Authority, Salvation, Moral Teaching, and the Blessed Virgin Mary, matters which were seen as Church-dividing. In the year 2000, in spite of some new obstacles, Archbishop George Carey of Canterbury and Cardinal Cassidy of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity were able to call a meeting of bishops to consider how to take forward, in practical terms, the remarkable agreements already reached by ARCIC. Thus was formed the International Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission on Unity and Mission, of which I was also a member.