Archbishop Mullally Meets Pope in Rome Pilgrimage

Dame Sarah Mullally, the first woman to serve as Archbishop of Canterbury, arrived in Rome on Saturday for a four-day pilgrimage that includes a private meeting with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican on Monday. The encounter, marking her initial overseas trip since her March enthronement, underscores efforts to bolster ties between the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church amid global calls for peace.

The leaders plan to engage in private prayer and discussion before delivering separate addresses. Mullally will also join the Pope for midday prayer in the Chapel of Urban VIII within the Apostolic Palace. Accompanied by Archbishop Richard Moth, the head of Catholics in England and Wales, she is visiting key sites including the tombs of Saints Peter and Paul, as well as the Papal Basilicas of St. John Lateran and St. Mary Major. Her itinerary features worship services at Anglican and Episcopal congregations in Rome, such as presiding over Eucharist at All Saints Anglican Church and preaching at St. Paul's Within the Walls, the city's first non-Roman Catholic church built inside its historic walls.

The visit occurs against a backdrop of shared advocacy for peace. In his Easter...