Sarah Mullally

Some Lesser Known Facts About Sarah Mullally

• When she was pursuing her A-levels, Sarah Mullally decided to become a nurse instead of a doctor as she wanted to take complete care of patients with compassion.

• At 16, she was influenced by her Christian faith, which later motivated her to pursue a career in nursing.

• During her nursing studies at South Bank Polytechnic, Sarah Mullally was trained as a nurse at St Thomas’ Hospital.

• After that, she earned a joint Registered General Nurse (RGN) status.

• Sarah Mullally then began working as a full-time nurse at St Thomas’ Hospital and The Royal Marsden Hospital.

• Later, she opted for nursing leadership roles.

• Sarah Mullally worked as a Ward Sister and head of practice development at Westminster Hospital.

• After that, she was appointed as the director of nursing at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital.

• From 1998 to 2001, she received her part-time training for ordained ministry at the South East Institute of Theological Education (now St Augustine’s College of Theology).

• After that, Sarah Mullally was ordained in the Church of England.

• In 1999, she began working as Chief Nursing Officer and Director of Patient Experience for England. She then became the youngest person to be appointed to these roles.

• Sarah Mullally then served as a non-executive director on the English Board of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting.

• On 30 September 2001, she was appointed as a deacon at Southwark Cathedral.

• On 5 October 2002, Sarah Mullally was ordained as a priest at Holy Trinity, Clapham.

• Both ordinations were carried out by Tom Butler, the Bishop of Southwark.

• She worked as a non-stipendiary minister at the Parish of Battersea Fields in the Diocese of Southwark from 2001 to 2004.

• In 2004, Sarah Mullally resigned as Chief Nursing Officer to take up full-time ministry in the Church of England.

• That same year, she was appointed as an assistant curate at St Saviour’s Church, Battersea Fields. She served in the position till 2006.

• In 2005, during the New Year Honours, she was appointed as a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for her work in nursing and midwifery.

• In 2005, Sarah Mullally began working as an independent Governor at London South Bank University. She was given additional responsibility to serve as the Vice-Chairperson of the Board of Governors and Chairwoman of the Policy and Resources Committee. She served in the position till 2015.

• From 2005 to 2012, she served as a non-executive director at the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust.

• In 2006, she was appointed as the team rector of the Sutton team ministry at St Nicholas Church, Sutton, London.

• During this period, Sarah Mullally was pursuing her parish duties while learning ethics in the Diocese of Southwark.

• After that, she participated in an Anglican clergy leadership programme.

• She was then appointed as a member of the dioceses commission in the Church of England.

• Soon after she started working in the diocese, Sarah Mullally tried to remove Martin Sargeant, a dishonest head of operations who had stolen £5 million from London churches.

• Due to some mistakes and a confused exit process, an investigation was wrongly started against Rev Alan Griffin, a retired gay priest who had left the Church of England for the Catholic Church.

• Martin Sargeant spread false rumours that Griffin had abused young boys.

• The diocese then started an investigation, but Griffin ended his own life in distress before being proven innocent.

• Many churches did not trust Mullally for how she managed this case and claimed that others had suffered from Sargeant’s lies and hints.

• In 2012, Sarah Mullally started working as a non-executive at Salisbury NHS Foundation. She served in the position till 2016.

• That same year, she became a Canon Treasurer at Salisbury Cathedral in the Diocese of Salisbury. She served in the position till 2015.

• In June 2015, she was appointed as the Bishop of Crediton, a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Exeter.

  

• On 22 July 2015, she was made a bishop by Archbishop Justin Welby at Canterbury Cathedral. She and Rachel Treweek became the first women to be blessed as bishops at Canterbury Cathedral.

• In September 2015, Sarah Mullally became the first woman in the Church of England to lead an ordination service.

• She ordained two deacons, Leisa McGovern and Sheila Walker, as priests at St Mary’s Church, Ottery St. Mary, Devon.

• In 2016, she became a lay member of the Council of King’s College London.

• In September 2016, Sarah Mullally joined a group titled “Bishops’ reflection group on sexuality,” which had ten bishops, to help the Church of England in discussing issues related to sexuality.

• On 18 December 2017, she became the Bishop of London, replacing Richard Chartres, who had retired in February 2017.

• As Bishop of London, Sarah Mullally became the third most senior bishop in the Church of England, after the archbishops of Canterbury and York.

• During this period, she was given a temporary position as an honorary assistant bishop in the Diocese of Exeter, continuing work related to her previous position.

• That same year, Sarah Mullally said that it was a time to follow tradition and scripture and think about showing love to everyone, including LGBT individuals, because it reflects God’s love.

• On 25 January 2018, she was appointed as bishop-elect by the ‘College of Canons’ for St Paul’s Cathedral. She formally took legal possession of the role on 8 March 2018, at St Mary-le-Bow.

• On 12 May 2018, Sarah Mullally began her duties at St Paul’s Cathedral.

  

• On 15 July 2020, she led the consecration of Hugh Nelson and Ruth Bushyager as bishops.

• It was the first time that a female bishop had led a consecration service in the Church of England. It was considered unique because the Archbishop of Canterbury normally led the consecrations.

• On 14 March 2018, Sarah Mullally was made a member of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom.

• On 24 May 2018, she joined the House of Lords as part of the Lords Spiritual group.

• That same year, Sarah Mullally supported the marriage teachings of the Church of England.

• On 12 July 2019, she replaced Richard Chartres and became the first woman to serve as Dean of the Chapel Royal.

• In 2023, Sarah Mullally was one of three female church leaders to conduct the coronation ceremony.

• On 3 October 2025, the Church of England announced that Mullally would be the next Archbishop of Canterbury, and she would succeed Justin Welby.

• She took the position as the Primate of All England and the Metropolitan Bishop of the Province of Canterbury.

  

• After this, she became the first woman to hold this position and the second person since the Middle Ages to hold this role without a degree from Oxford or Cambridge universities.

• It was also announced that the College of Canons would elect her before 25 December 2025.

• The legal confirmation will take place at St Paul’s Cathedral on 28 January 2026, when she will officially become Archbishop of Canterbury and quit the role of Bishop of London.

• Her formal appointment at Canterbury Cathedral will take place in March 2026, after which she will begin her public ministry in the new role.

• After the announcement, her appointment caused debate within the Church of England.

• The Church Society, a conservative evangelical, said that her appointment could divide the Church, and her views on same-sex relationships were a matter of worry.

• Forward in Faith, a traditionalist Anglo-Catholic group, which opposes the ordination of women, still recognised her as the rightful holder of the office.

• Many Anglican churches, especially in Africa, opposed her appointment.

• All these groups opposed her appointment because they oppose the ordination of women and her support for same-sex couples.

• The Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (Gafcon), a conservative Anglican group, expressed dissatisfaction with her appointment.

• Gafcon also claimed that this appointment showed that the Church of England had lost its authority to lead.

• Stephen Kaziimba from the Church of Uganda stated that he opposed her appointment due to her views.

• According to Mullally, she is a feminist and has ordained both men and women.

• Many believe that she is a theological liberal.

• She often supports those who do not accept women as priests or bishops in the Church of England. She once shared her views in the media. She said,

  I am very respectful of those who, for theological reasons, cannot accept my role as a priest or a bishop. My belief is that Church diversity throughout London should flourish and grow; everybody should be able to find a spiritual home.”

• In 2022, she supported LGBT+ History Month. She also started an advisory group to guide the diocese on caring for LGBT+ people in church life.

• Mullally supports abortion rights for others. According to her, people should have a choice in such situations. However, she would likely choose not to have an abortion herself.

• After becoming Bishop of London, Mullally moved into the Old Deanery of St Paul’s and made changes to the building. She turned a former laundry into an oratory and led daily eucharistic adorations there.

• She once revealed that she has dyslexia and finds it hard to read biblical genealogies aloud.