First female Archbishop of Canterbury to be installed this afternoon
Dame Sarah Mullally will become the first female to hold the high office of Archbishop of Canterbury in its 1,400-year history.
This afternoon will be historic for the Church of England, as Dame Sarah Mullally is installed as the first female Archbishop of Canterbury, and 106th person to hold the title in the church's history.
The event is expected to have a 2,000 person turnout that will include members of the royal family, representatives from different faiths, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and NHS workers, who were invited by Dame Sarah due to her previous role as chief nursing officer for NHS England.
Among them will be some of the first female Anglican bishops from across Africa, who will join a procession through the Cathedral.
The Pope will not attend but will send a representative from the Holy See, and the new Archbishop of Westminster, who is the leader of Catholics in England and Wales, will give a reading from the Old Testament.
Canterbury Cathedral Dean, Very Reverend David Monteith, said the installation of the first female Archbishop “would have almost been unimaginable even 50 years ago”.
He added: “As we combine centuries of tradition in this ancient service with those elements unique to Sarah’s ministry, we welcome her to our Cathedral and diocese, and pray for her as she takes on the role of Archbishop of Canterbury.”
Due to concerns about the recent meningitis outbreaks in the area, officials have said they are keeping in contact with health authorities to monitor the situation, but that the event “remains categorised as low risk so will proceed as planned”.
The service will not involve holy communion, but those gathered may exchange handshakes as is traditional in offering a sign of peace to those nearby.
Dame Sarah, in a statement issued last week, said her thoughts and prayers were with the families of two young people who have died in the outbreak, saying her “heart goes out to them in their devastating loss”.
Over the past week she has completed a six day and 87-mile long pilgrimage to Kent in preparation for the ceremony.