Archbishop of Canterbury Sarah Mullally meets with pope and prays at the Vatican

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally, arrived at the Vatican on Monday (April 27, 2026) for an audience with Pope Leo XIV, making her first foreign visit since being installed as the first woman leader of the Church of England and spiritual leader of millions of Anglicans around the world.

Archbishop Mullally, whose appointment has split the already divided Anglican Communion, arrived early to meet with Pope Leo in his library. Later, they were to go to into the Urban VIII Chapel inside the Apostolic palace for what the Vatican said would be a “moment of prayer.”