Visit to Rome of the Archbishop of Canterbury

The recently-installed Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Reverend Sarah Mullally, paid an official visit to Rome and the Holy See from 25 to 28 April. In addition to her leadership role in the Church of England, Archbishop Mullally is also one of the Anglican Communion’s instruments of unity, presiding over the Anglican Consultative Council, the Primates’ Meeting and the Lambeth Conference.

Pope Leo XIV received Archbishop Mullally in private audience on the morning of Monday 27 April. In her address to the Pope, Archbishop Mullally thanked the Holy Father for his ministry and his advocacy for peace and justice. She spoke of the value of the exchange of gifts characteristic of ecumenical dialogue. “Already, we receive from one another gifts we cannot generate alone: depth in prayer, courage in witness, perseverance in suffering, and faithfulness in service. In these, our common witness is strengthened.” In his address, Pope Leo spoke of the importance of such common witness, noting that disunity weakens churches’ capacity to be effective bearers of Christ’s peace. “If the world is to take our preaching to heart, we must, therefore, be constant in our prayers and efforts to remove any stumbling blocks that hinder the proclamation of the Gospel.” Referring to new challenges that have arisen in Catholic-Anglican dialogue, the Pope stated that “we must not allow these continuing challenges to prevent us from using every possible opportunity to proclaim Christ to the world together”

The Archbishop’s delegation for the visit included her husband, Mr Eamonn Mullally; Archbishop Richard Moth of Westminster, President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales; Bishop Anthony Ball, Director of the Anglican Centre in Rome and Mrs Celia Ball; the Reverend Matthias Grebe, National Ecumenical Adviser of the Church of England; and the Reverend Margaret Cave and Mr Chris Cox from the Archbishop’s staff. The Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, Cardinal Kurt Koch and the official responsible for Anglican Communion matters, Fr Martin Browne OSB, also participated. Following their meeting, the Pope and the Archbishop celebrated the office of Terce together in the Chapel of Urban VIII.

Over the course of her visit, Archbishop Mullally made pilgrim visits to each of the four Papal Basilicas, and prayed at the tombs of the Apostles Peter and Paul. On the morning of Sunday 26 April, she presided at the Sung Eucharist in the Church of England All Saints Church, where she also baptised a child and two infants, and in the evening preached at Choral Evensong in the Episcopalian Church of St Paul within the Walls. In the evening of Monday 25 April, she commissioned Bishop Anthony Ball, Director of the Anglican Centre in Rome, as her representative to the Holy See. The celebration, in the Church of St Ignatius, took the form of Choral Evensong. The homily was preached by Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelisation.