BISHOP Sarah Mullally DBE become the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury, at her Confirmation of Election at St Paul’s Cathedral on Wednesday, January 28. She is the first woman to hold the office in its 1,400-year history.

The Confirmation of Election is a legal ceremony, set within a church service, at which Bishop Sarah, the Archbishop-Elect, legally became the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Bishop Moira, the current Bishop of Crediton, left, with Archbishop Sarah and Bishop Robert in July 2025.
Bishop Moira, the current Bishop of Crediton, left, with Archbishop Sarah and Bishop Robert in July 2025. (Diocese of Exeter)

The Confirmation will be followed by an Installation service at Canterbury Cathedral on March 25, where Archbishop Sarah will preach her first sermon as Archbishop of Canterbury.

Between her Confirmation of Election and Installation, Archbishop Sarah will pay homage to The King and meet with the leaders of other Christian denominations and other faiths in the UK.

She will also co-preside at the Church of England’s General Synod in London in February, where she will deliver the Presidential Address. By tradition, Archbishop Sarah will begin her public ministry and full programme of public engagements following her Installation.

The Rev Dame Sarah Mullally, when the Bishop of Crediton, centre, at Colebrooke Parish at Colebrooke Church with those who had been Confirmed into the Christian faith in 2021, with some of the then church officers. AQ 4967

Bishop Sarah said: “It is an extraordinary and humbling privilege to have been called to be the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury.

“In this country and around the world, Anglican churches bring healing and hope to their communities. With God’s help, I will seek to guide Christ’s flock with calmness, consistency and compassion.

“These are times of division and uncertainty for our fractured world. I pray that we will offer space to break bread together and discover what we have in common – and I pledge myself to this ministry of hospitality.

“I want us to be a Church that always listens to the voices of those who have been ignored or overlooked, among them victims and survivors of church abuse who have often been let down. I am committed to equipping the Church to be a kind and safe place that cares for everyone, especially those who are vulnerable, as we rise to the challenge of God’s call to justice, equity, peace and the care of creation”.

The Bishop of Exeter, the Rt Rev Dr Mike Harrison, said "I am delighted to see Sarah formally and legally made Archbishop of Canterbury.

Bishop Sarah pictured on January 19, 2026, before she was confirmed as Archbishop of Canterbury.
Bishop Sarah pictured on January 19, 2026, before she was confirmed as Archbishop of Canterbury. (Brendan Foster Photography)

“She will be an Archbishop who is deeply experienced in both rural and urban contexts and has so much wisdom and knowledge to bring to this incredibly demanding role.

“The added bonus for us is that she knows Devon so well from her time as Bishop of Crediton. No doubt she will be utilising what she learned in Devon in her leadership of the Anglican Communion.”

The Show President, centre, Mrs Rosemary Chanin, with, from left, Chairman Angus Cottey, Cllr Frank Letch, the chairman of Mid Devon District Council; Rt Rev Jackie Searle, the Bishop of Crediton, and from fifth left, Dame Sarah Mullally, the Bishop of London; The Archdeacon of Exeter, Rev Andrew Beane and right, the Mayor of Crediton, Cllr Elizabeth Brookes-Hocking. AQ 3007
Dame Sarah Mullally, then Bishop of London, during a visit to the Mid Devon Show in 2023, pictured with civic guests, the Archdeacon of Exeter, show officers, the show president and the then Mayor of Crediton, Cllr Elizabeth Brookes-Hocking in 2023. AQ 3007 (Alan Quick, Crediton Courier)

Former Bishop of Exeter, the Rt Rev Robert Atwell, who appointed Sarah as Bishop of Crediton in 2016, said: "Today’s somewhat arcane legal ceremony is a milestone: the last stage in Sarah’s journey to Canterbury before her installation in March. Little did I think, as I knelt in Canterbury Cathedral all those years ago when I shared in her episcopal ordination, that she would become Archbishop!

“Her years in Devon and London have revealed her stature and prepared her well for the challenges that lie ahead. She is an outstanding bishop with a big pastoral heart.”