Pope Leo XIV and Archbishop of Canterbury Meet at Vatican for First Time

Pope Leo XIV met with Dame Sarah Mullally, the Archbishop of Canterbury, at the Vatican on April 27, 2026, in their first encounter since Mullally's installation as the first female head of the Church of England.

The two leaders prayed together in the Urban VIII Chapel of the Apostolic Palace. Pope Leo recalled the historic meeting between Pope Paul VI and Archbishop Michael Ramsey 60 years ago and called on both churches to work together to proclaim Christ to the world.

"It would be a scandal if, due to our divisions, we did not fulfill our common vocation to make Christ known," the Pope said.

The pontiff acknowledged that the path to full communion has grown more difficult in recent decades. He reaffirmed the Catholic Church's teaching on a male-only priesthood, a point of sharp disagreement with the Church of England, which ordained Mullally as its first female archbishop.

Archbishop Mullally thanked the Pope for his public condemnations of war and autocracy. She called for mutual hospitality as a form of ministry even amid differences.

Mullally's visit to Rome ran from April 25 to 28 and included representatives from the Anglican Communion and the newly appointed Catholic Archbishop of Westminster, Richard Moth. She also visited the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls and St. Peter's Basilica during her stay.

Conservative Anglican bodies, including the Global Anglican Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans, have announced a break with the See of Canterbury over the ordination of women and the Church of England's 2023 vote to bless same-sex couples in civil marriages.