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For Archbishop Sarah Mullally visit to the Vatican and pray with Pope Leo XIV

The new primate of the Anglican Church will be in Italia for four days. The joint prayer in the chapel of Urban VIII, inside the Apostolic Palace

by Rome Editorial Staff

25 April 2026

L’arcivescovo di Canterbury Sarah Mullally (Gareth Fuller/Pool Photo via AP) AP

2' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

2' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

The female Archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally, since last January primate of the Anglican Church, will from Monday onwards be in Rome for four days of meetings. Mullally, during her pilgrimage to Italia, will meet and pray with Pope Leo XIV on Monday. She will in fact be received in audience by the Pope in the Vatican on Monday morning for a private meeting before delivering the respective speeches.

The archbishop's delegation will also include Monsignor Richard Moth, Catholic Archbishop of Westminster.

The joint prayer with the Pope is scheduled at 12 noon in the Urban VIII Chapel inside the Apostolic Palace.

Mullally will also meet with officials of the Dicastery for Christian Unity and visit the Vatican Museums.

The archbishop's four-day pilgrimage to Rome," reported a note from the Anglicans, "began with prayer at the tomb of St Peter in the Vatican basilica, before going to prayer at the tomb of St Paul in the basilica outside the Walls.

"It was here, 60 years ago," a note recalls, "that on 24 March 1966 the Joint Declaration was signed between Archbishop Michael Ramsey and Pope Paul VI, the first formal ecumenical agreement between the Anglican Church and the Roman Catholic Church

'The purpose of the visit,' the Anglican Church note continues, 'is to strengthen Anglican and Catholic relations through prayer, personal encounters and formal theological dialogue.

On Sunday morning, Archbishop Sarah will preside over the celebration at the Anglican Church of All Saints in Rome, followed by vespers at St Paul's. During the day, he will also make visits to St John Lateran and Santa Maria Maggiore.

On Monday evening, Mullally will preside over the evening service at the Church of St Ignatius of Loyola, during which he will install Bishop Anthony Ball, director of the Anglican Centre in Rome, as the Archbishop of Canterbury's representative to the Holy See. The homily will be delivered by Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelisation.

The pilgrimage will end on Tuesday with visits to the Joel Nafuma Refugee Centre at St Paul's Basilica and to projects run by the Community of Sant'Egidio.

"I know that I am following in the footsteps of those who have gone before me," said Archbishop Mullally, "and I give thanks for the deepening dialogue and brotherhood between Anglicans and Catholics over the past sixty years. It is a joy and a privilege to meet and pray with His Holiness Pope Leo XIV and I look forward to our time of conversation and prayer'.