With its 85 million members across 165 countries, the Anglican Communion will, for the first time, have a woman as its primate - a figure with a diverse professional and pastoral background.
At 63 years old, Mullally is a former nurse, married, and mother of two. She was ordained as a priest in 2001, became a bishop in 2015, and has led the Diocese of London since 2018.
Her appointment, announced on October 3, precedes her installation scheduled for March 2026.
The new archbishop has stated her intention to promote “a culture of safety and well-being” and to be “a pastor who enables everyone’s ministry and vocation to flourish”.
Her emphasis on safeguarding is no coincidence: the Church of England is emerging from difficult years marked by the fallout of abuse scandals and the resignation of Justin Welby after twelve years of service as Archbishop of Canterbury.
Mullally inherits a complex community shaped by diverse theological perspectives. Already at the time of her election as Bishop of London, she expressed respect for those who, for theological reasons, did not accept her ordination - a position she maintains today in a global context marked by internal tensions.
The announcement of her appointment has reignited divisions within the Anglican Communion, particularly with provinces in Africa and Asia where female ordination is not recognized.
The Primate of Rwanda, Laurent Mbanda, criticized the decision, stating that “the majority of the Anglican Communion continues to believe that the Bible requires a male episcopate”, while the Primate of Nigeria, Henry Ndukuba, spoke of a rupture with the mother Church of Anglicanism.
Debates have also focused on the issue of same-sex unions. Mullally has supported blessings for same-sex couples, while opposing changes to the Church’s doc trine on marriage.
Within the Church of England, her leadership is met with respect, though not without reservations from some members of the more conservative wing.
Her role also unfolds within an ecumenical context. In a letter “expressing the Catholic Church’s most sincere congratulations”, Cardinal Kurt Koch, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, recalled sixty years of theological dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion, “during which we have grown greatly in mutual understanding”.