(OSV News): Although the path to full communion has become “more difficult to discern,” Catholics and Anglicans must persevere in dialogue and “proclaim Christ to the world,” Pope Leo XIV said in his first meeting with Anglican Archbishop Sarah Mullally of Canterbury on April 27. The pope acknowledged that although progress has been made on “historically divisive issues,” new problems in recent decades have made the “ecumenical journey” more challenging.
Nevertheless, he said, it “would also be a scandal if we did not continue to work towards overcoming our differences, no matter how intractable they may appear.”
According to a statement from the archbishop’s office, Archbishop Mullally joined the pope for midday prayer in the 17th-century Chapel of Urban VIII, located in the Apostolic Palace.
Welcoming the archbishop of Canterbury to the Vatican, Pope Leo observed that “our suffering world greatly needs the peace of Christ,” but divisions among Christians diminish their ability to share that peace. He emphasised, “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.”
He stressed, “This focus on the need for unity for the sake of a more fruitful evangelisation has been a theme throughout my own ministry; indeed it is reflected in the motto I chose when I became a bishop: ‘In Illo uno unum’, ‘In the One—that is Christ—we are one.’”
While the ecumenical path is complex, Pope Leo said the Catholic Church and the Church of England continue to “journey together in friendship and dialogue.”
This focus on the need for unity for the sake of a more fruitful evangelisation has been a theme throughout my own ministry; indeed it is reflected in the motto I chose when I became a bishop: ‘In Illo uno unum’, ‘In the One—that is Christ—we are one
Pope Leo XIV
He also prayed that the Holy Spirit, “will guide our steps as we prayerfully and humbly seek the unity which is the Lord’s will for all his disciples.”
“Your Grace, in thanking you for your visit today, I pray that the same Holy Spirit will remain with you always, making you fruitful in the service to which you have been called,” the pope said.
Archbishop Mullally thanked Pope Leo for highlighting “the many injustices in our world,” particularly during his visit to Africa, saying, “The world needed this message at this time—thank you.” She reflected that people, despite suffering, aspire to a fuller life and many work daily toward the common good. She observed that, in the ecumenical journey, the “Holy Spirit is inviting us into a deeper practice of hospitality, not simply as welcome, but as a form of ministry.”
It is “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,” she said. “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.”
Recalling King Charles III and Queen Camilla’s visit to the Vatican in October, Archbishop Mullally said the British monarch “valued his recent visit” and assured Pope Leo “of a warm welcome from the Church of England should you honour the United Kingdom with a visit.”
[Archbishop Sarah Mullall] reflected that people, despite suffering, aspire to a fuller life and many work daily toward the common good
Appointed as archbishop of Canterbury by King Charles in October, Archbishop Mullally is the first woman to lead the Church of England “in its 1,400-year history,” according to the Diocese of Canterbury.
Anglicans claim 1,400 years of history, identifying the Church of England not as a new entity instigated by Henry VIII during the 16th-century Reformation, but as the continuation of the church established by St Augustine of Canterbury in 597AD.
Archbishop Mullally’s meeting with Pope Leo was part of a four-day pilgrimage to Rome, intended “to strengthen Anglican–Roman Catholic relations through prayer, personal encounter, and formal theological dialogue.”
According to the Anglican Communion News Service, the archbishop of Canterbury’s visit reflects the enduring ecumenical relationship between the Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholic Church, which began with the landmark 1966 meeting of Archbishop Michael Ramsey and Pope Paul VI.
The pilgrimage began on April 26 with a visit to St. Peter’s Basilica and the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome to pray before the tombs of the apostles. In a tweet posted on X, Archbishop Mullally called for prayers “for the unity of his disciples and all God’s people.”
She wrote, “Our world is deeply wounded by war, division and fear, and it longs for the peace, justice, reconciliation and hope that are found in Jesus Christ alone. We are called to proclaim and live this gospel together, for the sake of the life of the world that God so loves.” Following her meeting with Pope Leo, Archbishop Mullally presided over vespers at the Church of St. Ignatius of Loyola, with Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle, pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelisation as homilist.
According to the archbishop’s office, Archbishop Mullally will appoint Anglican Bishop Anthony Ball, director of the Anglican Centre in Rome, as her representative to the Holy See.
