LONDON (AP) — Sarah Mullally, the bishop of London, was announced Friday as Archbishop of Canterbury, the first time a woman has been chosen as the spiritual leader of the Church of England. Mullally, 63, a former chief nursing officer for England, will face serious challenges including divisions over the treatment of women and LGBTQ people. Sarah Mullally, the new Archbishop of Canterbury, spiritual leader of the world's 85 million Anglicans, speaks inside Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, England, Friday, Oct. 3, 2025. “The new archbishop will be faced with declining church attendance, bloated management structures and clergy squabbling over what people do in the bedroom,” Andrew Graystone, an advocate for church abuse survivors, told Britain’s Press Association. While each national church has its own leader, the Archbishop of Canterbury is considered first among equals.