'Teenage me could not have imagined this' says first female Archbishop of Canterbury

The first female Archbishop of Canterbury said her teenage self "could never have imagined the future that lay ahead", during her installation as leader of the Church of England.

In her first sermon as archbishop, Dame Sarah Mullally said: "As I look back over my life - at the teenage Sarah, who put her faith in God and made a commitment to follow Jesus, I could never have imagined the future that lay ahead, and certainly not the ministry to which I am now called."

Addressing some 2,000 guests at Canterbury Cathedral, including the Prince and Princess of Wales, she also warned against overlooking victims harmed by "the failures of those in our own Christian churches and communities".

Also present were nurses and carers from Canterbury, to reflect Dame Sarah's long career as a nurse.

The service, historically known as an enthronement, marked the symbolic start of Dame Sarah's public ministry as the Archbishop of Canterbury.

All 105 previous Archbishops of Canterbury have been men, starting with St Augustine in 597 AD. Women were only allowed to become priests in the Church of England 32 years ago, in 1994.

Dame Sarah- who became a Christian at 16 - told the congregation that she resonated with the experience of Mary, the mother of God, who had to trust "in a future she couldn't yet see - a future she could never have imagined".

Some traditionalists in the Church of England and the wider global Anglican Communion continue to oppose the idea of women being priests at all.

Reverend Lorna Heatley, a curate from Richmond in Yorkshire, told the BBC's Newsbeat that Dame Sarah faces "a difficult road ahead", adding: "She's not going to make decisions that everyone is going to agree with. She has a long uphill battle."

However, Heatley, 32, said: "It's an exciting and at times difficult, but altogether wonderful period of change."

In a meeting earlier this month in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, conservative clergy gathered to select their own leader to follow instead of Dame Sarah, the Rwandan archbishop Laurent Mbanda.

Dame Sarah, 63, will also work with bishops in England whose beliefs mean they refuse to ordain women.

She had told the BBC ahead of the service that she recognised "the significance of being the first female archbishop, but I am also aware of the women that have supported me in my ministry".

The archbishop said the installation would give the sense of being "about celebrating women".

In her sermon, Dame Sarah - whose predecessor Justin Welby resigned in 2024 amid criticism of his handling of a serious abuse case -also acknowledged survivors of "the failures of those in our own Christian churches and communities".

She said: "In a world already torn by conflict, suffering, and division, we must also acknowledge the hurt that exists much closer to home.

"We must not overlook or minimise the pain experienced by those who have been harmed through the actions, inactions, or failures of those in our own Christian churches and communities."

There will be much scrutiny of the way she leads on safeguarding, especially given Welby's resignation.

She had said the day before her installation, when asked about the scrutiny of her own record in handling abuse cases: "Light should be shone on all our actions. And the more senior we are, the more light should be shone. That is absolutely right."

"I am going to be the archbishop because of the experiences that I have had, whether as a nurse or as a priest or as a bishop. And I continue to make my commitment to do all I can to ensure that the Church becomes safer."

Other challenges the new archbishop will face are familiar for leaders of the Church of England - such as the controversy which rumbles on over same-sex unions in the Church.

In the days leading up to the service, Dame Sarah walked nearly 90 miles over six days in a pilgrimage from St Paul's Cathedral to Canterbury Cathedral.

The theme of pilgrimage continued into Wednesday afternoon's installation service too, with religious rites performed in locations throughout the cathedral.

It began with Dame Sarah knocking three times on the West Door of the cathedral with her pastoral staff after which she was welcomed by local schoolchildren.

In the nave she swore an oath on the Saint John's Bible, the first time a new bible has been used since 1945, in what is being seen as a reflection of modernisation.

In the choir she was installed as Bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury in the Cathedral Chair before moving to the famous Chair of St Augustine to be installed as Primate of All England.

While the service was rooted in historical significance, Dame Sarah had a hand in choosing some of the hymns.

There were also nods to the diversity of the global Anglican Communion - with singing in Urdu, a Gospel reading in Spanish and a prayer in the Bemba language of Zambia.

During her sermon, Dame Sarah said "some of our Anglican brothers and sisters" had been prevented from attending the service by the US-Israel war with Iran.

"We pray for them without ceasing, and for all those in war-torn areas of the world, in Ukraine, in Sudan, and Myanmar – that they would know God's presence with them, just as we pray for peace to prevail."

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