On March 26, 2026, Pope Leo XIV addressed a written message to Archbishop Sarah Mullally, who had officially assumed her ministry the previous day in a ceremony at Canterbury Cathedral. Cardinal Kurt Koch, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity and the Pope’s special envoy, delivered the letter at the conclusion of a joint ecumenical prayer service held in the same cathedral to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the historic meeting between Saint Paul VI and Archbishop Michael Ramsey in Rome in March 1966.

In his letter, Pope Leo XIV offers “greetings, good wishes and words of encouragement for a ministry that is undoubtedly ‘arduous’,” while inviting everyone to “continue dialoguing in truth and love” in order to offer the world “the gifts of God” amidst the various tragedies that afflict it.

The message underscores the breadth of the responsibility Mullally assumes, not only for the Diocese of Canterbury, but for the entire Church of England and the Anglican Communion as a whole. The Pope asks the Lord to strengthen her with the gift of wisdom and to guide her by the Holy Spirit in her service to her communities, inspired by the example of Mary, Mother of God.

An ecumenical dialogue with fruits and challenges

The Pope recalled the gesture sixty years ago, when Paul VI and Michael Ramsey shook hands in Rome, committing Catholics and Anglicans to a new era of fraternal relations based on Christian charity. That meeting opened “a new chapter of respectful openness” which, according to Leo XIV, “has borne much fruit in the last six decades and continues to do so even today.”

From that moment also emerged the agreement to initiate a formal theological dialogue, which led to the creation of the Anglican-Catholic International Commission (ARCIC). The Pope emphasizes that the fruits of this work have allowed both traditions “to bear witness together more effectively,” something especially valuable in the face of the many challenges facing the human family.

Although he acknowledges that the ecumenical path “has not always been free of obstacles” and that “new circumstances have brought new disagreements,” the Pope affirms that these differences do not prevent them from recognizing one another as “brothers and sisters in Christ” thanks to their common Baptism. He cites the example of the relationship between Pope Francis and former Archbishop Justin Welby, including their joint visit to South Sudan in 2023.

“For my part, I firmly believe that we must continue to dialogue in truth and love,” writes Leo XIV, “because only in truth and love do we come to know together the grace, mercy and peace of God and, therefore, to be able to offer these precious gifts to the world.”

Unity in the service of the Gospel

The message concludes by reminding everyone that the unity Christians seek “is never an end in itself.” Quoting Pope Francis’s remarks to Anglican primates in 2024, Leo XIV warns that it would be a scandal if, because of divisions, Christians failed to fulfill their common vocation of making Christ known.

“ Only through the witness of a reconciled, fraternal and united Christian community will the proclamation of the Gospel resonate more clearly ,” the Pope emphasizes.

The new archbishop, Sarah Mullally, 63, is the first woman to hold this position. In her homily during the installation ceremony, she spoke of the women of the Bible who trusted in God in the face of an uncertain future and reiterated the urgency of truth and justice in the Church. The ecumenical prayer during which the papal message was delivered used the same kneeler as the meeting between St. John Paul II and Archbishop Robert Runcie in 1982, thus reinforcing the symbolism of continuity in relations between Catholics and Anglicans.