The Bishop of Carlisle, the Rt Revd Rob Saner-Haigh, has warmly welcomed the announcement of the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury.

The announcement made on Friday, October 3, that the Rt Reverend and Rt Honourable Dame Sarah Mullally will be the next Archbishop of Canterbury.

The Rt Revd Rob Saner-Haigh, Bishop of Carlisle, said: “I warmly welcome today’s announcement of Dame Sarah Mullally as the new Archbishop of Canterbury and assure her of our prayers as she takes up this role of national and international significance.

“The Archbishop has a particular calling to draw people together in Christ and to serve as a focus of unity in the Church of England and the wider Anglican Communion.

“At a time when our world deeply needs hope and God’s healing, I look forward to working with the new Archbishop to share the good news of Jesus Christ and to encourage the Church in its mission.

“Please join me in praying for the Archbishop and her family, and for all who serve the Church of England in leadership, that together we may witness to God’s love for the world and for every person.”

While The Venerable Michael Everitt, Interim Dean of Carlisle, added: “I join with Bishop Rob in welcoming Dame Sarah Mullally’s appointment as the next Archbishop of Canterbury.

“Bishop Sarah and her family are very much in our thoughts and prayers as they prepare for this tremendous responsibility.

“We are grateful to all who have carried additional responsibilities during the vacancy and continue to pray for Archbishop Stephen Cottrell and for the life and witness of the Church across these lands.”

Bishop Sarah will be the first woman to hold the office and will be installed in a service at Canterbury Cathedral in March 2026.

Bishop Sarah said: “As I respond to the call of Christ to this new ministry, I do so in the same spirit of service to God and to others that has motivated me since I first came to faith as a teenager.  

“At every stage of that journey, through my nursing career and Christian ministry, I have learned to listen deeply – to people and to God’s gentle prompting – to seek to bring people together to find hope and healing. 

“I want, very simply, to encourage the Church to continue to grow in confidence in the Gospel, to speak of the love that we find in Jesus Christ and for it to shape our actions. 

“And I look forward to sharing this journey of faith with the millions of people serving God and their communities in parishes all over the country and across the global Anglican Communion. 

“I know this is a huge responsibility but I approach it with a sense of peace and trust in God to carry me as He always has.”

Bishop Sarah was born in Woking in 1962 and became a Christian at the age of 16.

Before being ordained in 2001, Bishop Sarah worked as a nurse in the National Health Service going on to specialise as a cancer nurse and, at the age of 37, became the youngest person ever to be appointed to the post of the Government’s Chief Nursing Officer for England.

Bishop Sarah was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in recognition of her outstanding contribution to nursing.

On May 12, 2018, Bishop Sarah was installed as the 133rd Bishop of London at St Paul’s Cathedral, the first woman to hold the role.