On April 27, Pope Leo received Sarah Mullally, the newly installed Archbishop of Canterbury, at the Vatican for their first formal meeting since her installation in March. The encounter, held in the ornate apostolic palace, brought together the leaders of two Christian denominations that have been separate since the 16th century.
The archbishop, who is the first woman to serve as the spiritual head of the world’s 85 million Anglicans, was welcomed into the pope’s formal office. After a private meeting, the two clerics proceeded to a 17th century chapel where they recited prayers together.
Remarks exchanged
In prepared remarks addressed to Pope Leo, Archbishop Mullally praised the pope’s recent public rhetoric, noting its urgency and moral clarity. She made reference to the pope’s speeches during a four-nation Africa tour in which he sharply denounced war and despotism - rhetoric that, the archbishop said, had drawn criticism from U.S. President Donald Trump.
"The world needed this message at this time - thank you," the archbishop said. "It reminded us that despite our sufferings, people long for life in all its fullness, and countless people are working each day for this vision of the common good."
Pope Leo acknowledged that the two churches have made strides in drawing closer but warned that new obstacles have emerged. He did not specify the nature of those difficulties.
"new problems have arisen in recent decades," the pope said. "We must not allow these continuing challenges to prevent us from using every possible opportunity to proclaim Christ to the world together."
Context within Anglican Communion
Mullally’s installation in March marked a historic change for the Anglican Communion. The move provoked mixed reactions across the global body, particularly among more conservative provinces in Africa and Asia, where concerns about the appointment were most pronounced.
Speaking to ITV News ahead of her Vatican visit, the archbishop said she felt "very humbled, very privileged" to meet the pope and emphasized the longstanding relationship and fellowship between the Anglican Church and the Roman Catholic Church. "We will continue to build on that relationship," she said.
In her remarks at the Vatican on Monday, Mullally also pledged unity in prayer with the pope and highlighted mutual gifts exchanged between the two communions.
"We receive from one another gifts we cannot generate alone: depth in prayer, courage in witness, perseverance in suffering, and faithfulness in service," she said.
Broader gestures of engagement
The meeting follows other recent high-level interactions between the two traditions. King Charles III, the supreme governor of the Church of England, made a state visit to the Vatican in October. During that visit he and Pope Leo prayed together in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel, which was reported as the first joint worship involving a pope and a British monarch since the reign of Henry VIII.
The April 27 meeting between Pope Leo and Archbishop Mullally was framed as a symbolic and pastoral moment, one in which the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England sought to reaffirm shared commitments while acknowledging the continuing difficulties that separate their communions.
The encounter combined ceremonial elements - the exchange of gifts and the use of the apostolic palace - with private discussion and common prayer in a historic chapel, underscoring both the symbolic significance and the pastoral intent of the visit.