Archbishop Sarah Mullally to visit Pope Leo XIV in April

27 March 2026 • Persistent link: iarccum.org/?p=5516

The interior dome of St Peter's Basilica in Rome. Photo: Anglican Centre in Rome/Facebook

Lambeth Palace has confirmed that Archbishop of Canterbury Sarah Mullally will visit Rome from Saturday, 25th April, to Tuesday, 28th April. During her visit, the Archbishop will meet with Pope Leo XIV in the Vatican and worship with the Anglican churches in Rome.

The Pope and the Archbishop of Canterbury have exchanged letters expressing their commitment to Christian unity and Anglican-Roman Catholic dialogue.

Pope Leo XIV wrote to Archbishop Sarah Mullally on the occasion of her Installation, which was held at Canterbury Cathedral on Wednesday. The Pope said that he prayed she might “be guided by the Holy Spirit” and “draw inspiration from the example of Mary, the Mother of God.”

In response, Archbishop Sarah thanked the Pope for his prayers, and assured him of her own. “I am deeply grateful for your gracious letter, and for the assurance of your prayers at the time of my installation as Archbishop of Canterbury,” she wrote. “Your words of encouragement, and your invocation of the Holy Spirit’s guidance, are received with profound appreciation.”

In her message, the Archbishop wrote: “As Archbishop of Canterbury, I too am called to serve as an instrument of communion within the Anglican Communion, and to seek the full and visible unity to which our Lord has called us all (John 17:21).” She added: “I very much look forward to meeting Your Holiness in the near future and to continuing to strengthen the bonds of friendship and our shared commitment.”

Bishop Anthony Ball, the Director of the Anglican Centre in Rome and Representative of the Archbishop of Canterbury to the Holy See, remarked: “I very much look forward to welcoming Archbishop Sarah during her visit in this 60th anniversary year for the Anglican Centre in Rome. The Centre has continued to encourage dialogue and collaboration with the Catholic Church following Pope Leo’s election, in support of the vision for peace and social justice shared with the Anglican Communion. The visible unity of the Church and the building of bridges in a time of division and insecurity brings hope to many people around the world, and will remain a strong commitment under Archbishop Sarah’s leadership.”

Prayer service celebrates Common Declaration

The Pope’s message was delivered and read to Archbishop Sarah on Thursday morning by His Eminence Cardinal Kurt Koch, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, at Canterbury Cathedral. This followed a service of prayer with the Roman Catholic delegation attending Archbishop Sarah’s Installation to mark the 60th anniversary of the Common Declaration of 24th March 1966, the first formal ecumenical statement between Anglican and Roman Catholic Churches.

Held the day after Archbishop Sarah’s Installation, the service commemorated the historic 1966 meeting between Archbishop Michael Ramsey and Pope St Paul VI. Following Morning Prayer, Archbishop Sarah and Cardinal Koch prayed together at the site of the martyrdom of St Thomas Becket in the Cathedral Quire, mirroring Pope St John Paul II and Archbishop Robert Runcie’s visit to the site in 1982.

At the Vatican in 2024, Pope Francis told the Primates of the Anglican Communion that “it would be a scandal if, due to our divisions, we did not fulfil our common vocation to make Christ known.” Referring to these words in his letter, Pope Leo added: “Dear sister, I willingly make these words my own, for it is through the witness of a reconciled, fraternal and united Christian community that the proclamation of the Gospel will resound most clearly.”

Speaking after the service, the Archbishop of Canterbury said: “Sixty years ago, Pope Paul VI and Archbishop Michael Ramsey set before our Churches a vision of reconciliation grounded in charity, truth, and a shared desire for unity in Christ. Their meeting marked a new beginning in Anglican-Roman Catholic relations – one that continues to bear fruit in dialogue, friendship, and common witness across the world. I give thanks for this shared journey, which continues to grow, not least through the recent state visit of His Majesty The King to Pope Leo XIV in Rome.

“Through ongoing dialogue, including the work of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) and the International Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission on Unity and Mission (IARCCUM), we continue to seek that unity in Christ, in whom we find both the source and the fulfilment of our communion. We pray that the Holy Spirit will continue to guide us into all truth, deepen our fellowship, and lead us ever closer to the visible unity for which Christ prayed.”