The Rt Hon and Rt Rev Bishop Sarah Mullally has been named the next Archbishop of Canterbury – the first ever woman to hold the Church of England’s most senior position.

In a personal and moving letter to the Diocese, Bishop Sarah shared the emotional weight of this transition. “It is undoubtedly an extraordinary honour and privilege,” she wrote, “yet this moment is tinged with profound personal sadness, as I begin to absorb what I will be leaving behind.”

In her first address as Archbishop of Canterbury-Designate, Bishop Sarah said that she would seek to “to nurture and cultivate confidence in the Gospel—both within individuals and across churches, in the Church of England and in the wider Anglican Communion.”