Sarah Mullally

Dame Sarah Elisabeth Mullally ( Bowser; born 26 March 1962) is a British Anglican prelate and former nurse. In October 2025, she was nominated to be the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury. This made her the first woman to be appointed to lead the Church of England in that role.  

Early life and education
Mullally was born on 26 March 1962 in Woking, Surrey. She studied at Woking Sixth Form College.

While studying, she decided to become a nurse rather than a doctor because she wanted to apply a holistic approach to patient care. 

Ministry career
She has been the Bishop of London since 2018. She is also the Lords Spiritual in the House of Lords. From 1999 to 2004, she was Chief Nursing Officer for England and the National Health Service's director of patient experience for England. From 2015 to 2018, she was Bishop of Crediton, a suffragan bishop in the diocese of Exeter.

In the 2005 New Year Honours, Mullally was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for her work to nursing and midwifery.

Archbishop of Canterbury
On 3 October 2025, it was announced that Mullally would become the next Archbishop of Canterbury, to replace Justin Welby. She will be the first woman to hold the role. Her election by the College of Canons is set to happen before Christmas.

Personal life

In 1987, she married Eamonn Mullally; the couple have a daughter and a son.

Mullally has said that she has dyslexia.

 Views 
Mullally said she was a  feminist; she has ordained both men and women. According to the Financial Times, Mullally "is seen as a theological liberal." However, she also supports the inclusion in the Church of England of those who reject the ordination of women.

In September 2016, she became one of ten bishops to make up the church's "Bishops' reflection group on sexuality". In relation to same-sex relationships, she stated in 2017 that "It is a time for us to [think about] our tradition and scripture, and together say how we can offer a response that is about it being inclusive love." When asked about LGBT people in the church, she said that "What we have to remember is this is about people, and the church seeks to demonstrate love to all, because it reflects the God of love, who loves everybody."

Mullally has described her views on abortion as favouring abortion rights. She said that if the decision was about herself, she would likely decide against an abortion. She has stated that "I would suspect that I would describe my approach to this issue as pro-choice rather than pro-life although if it were a continuum I would be somewhere along it moving towards pro-life when it relates to my choice and then [giving people a] choice when it related to others."

References

Other websites
 Profile of Sarah Mullally on BBC Radio 4


Category:1962 births
Category:Living people
Category:People from Woking
Category:People with dyslexia
Category:Church of England bishops
Category:British nurses
Category:British feminists
Category:People from London