Pope receives Anglican primate, calls for removal of stumbling blocks to Christian unity

April 27, 2026

Pope Leo XIV today received Dame Sarah Mullally, one month after her installation as Archbishop of Canterbury.

As Archbishop of Canterbury, Dame Mullally is the primate of the Church of England and first among equals in the Anglican Communion. The modern tradition of papal audiences with the Archbishops of Canterbury dates back to 1966, when Pope St. Paul VI received Baron Michael Ramsey.

“Throughout these days of Eastertide, the first words spoken by the risen Christ resound throughout the Church: ‘Peace be with you,’“ (Jn 20:19), Pope Leo said. “This greeting invites us not only to accept the Lord’s gift of peace, but also to be messengers of his peace.”

“While our suffering world greatly needs the peace of Christ, the divisions among Christians weaken our capacity to be effective bearers of that peace,” he continued. “If the world is to take our preaching to heart, we must, therefore, be constant in our prayers and efforts to remove any stumbling blocks that hinder the proclamation of the Gospel.”

The Pontiff added:

When Archbishop Michael Ramsey and Saint Paul VI announced the first theological dialogue between Anglicans and Catholics, they spoke of seeking the “restoration of complete communion in faith and sacramental life” (Common Declaration, 24 March 1966). Certainly this ecumenical journey has been complex.

While much progress has been made on some historically divisive issues, new problems have arisen in recent decades, rendering the pathway to full communion more difficult to discern. I know that the Anglican Communion is also facing many of these same questions at this time.

Nevertheless, we must not allow these continuing challenges to prevent us from using every possible opportunity to proclaim Christ to the world together. As my beloved predecessor, Pope Francis, said to the Primates of the Anglican Communion in 2024, “it would be a scandal if, due to our divisions, we did not fulfil our common vocation to make Christ known” (Address to Primates of the Anglican Communion, 2 May 2024). For my part, I add that it would also be a scandal if we did not continue to work towards overcoming our differences, no matter how intractable they may appear.

“In our ecumenical journey, I believe the Holy Spirit is inviting us into a deeper practice of hospitality, not simply as welcome, but as a form of ministry: a willingness to make space for one another as those created in the image of God and called to grow more fully into his likeness,” Dame Mullally said in her address. “Already, we receive from one another gifts we cannot generate alone: depth in prayer, courage in witness, perseverance in suffering, and faithfulness in service. In these, our common witness is strengthened.”

“Your Holiness, I am grateful that we are able to join in prayer this morning. In the years to come, I will remain united with you in prayer: prayer for peace in our world; prayer for justice; and prayer that every person may come to discover the fullness of life that God offers,” she added. “In all this, we are sustained by hope—a hope grounded in Christ himself, who calls us forward, even when the way is not yet fully clear.”

After the audience, the Pontiff and the Anglican leader prayed Daytime Prayer together in the Chapel of Urban VIII in the Apostolic Palace.

(The Catholic Church teaches that Anglican orders, unlike orders conferred in the separated Eastern Churches, are invalid. In his 1896 apostolic letter Apostolicae Curae, Pope Leo XIII taught that “ordinations performed according to the Anglican Rite have been and are completely null and void.”)

 

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Further information:

• To Her Grace Sarah Mullally, Archbishop of Canterbury (Dicastery for Communication - Vatican Media, 4/27/26)
• Archbishop of Canterbury meets and prays with Pope Leo XIV (The Archbishop of Canterbury, 4/27/26)
• Pope: Anglicans and Catholics must continue working to overcome differences (Vatican News, 4/27/26)
• Pope Leo XIV meets archbishop of Canterbury amid deepening church divides (EWTN News, 4/27/26)