COMMENT about the nomination of the Bishop of London as the next Archbishop of Canterbury has focused, above all, on her being the first ever woman to hold the office. As The Times put it, the nomination of Bishop Mullally heralds “the decisive shattering of a stained-glass ceiling”. After more than seven years spent overseeing a large and polarised diocese, Bishop Mullally is eminently well qualified to navigate her way through the complexities presented by the Primacy. In her address in Canterbury on Friday, Bishop Mullally emphasised that her vocation had been shaped by washing feet, as a nurse before she ever felt a calling to the priesthood. And she was not in any doubt about the scale of the task that lies ahead: “You don’t just get trust on the day you come into office or pre-office.

Source: The Times October 09, 2025 23:28 UTC