Turning to the topic of hope, Mullally says she sees hope in communities, chaplaincies, the Church of England, and across the wider Anglican community.

“I see hospitals and prison chaplains caring for families in times of desperation,” she says.

“In an age that craves certainty and tribalism, Anglicanism offers something quieter and stronger shaped by prayer and lit from within by the glory of Christ. That is what gives me hope.”

Dame Sarah Mullally begins her first address with a prayer.

Mullally says it is her “deep privilege” to have served as Archbishop of London for almost eight years.

“Washing feet has shaped my Christian vocation, as a nurse, then a priest, then a bishop,” she says, adding that in a world full of uncertainty, “the possibility of healing lies in acts of kindness and love”.

Over now to Canterbury Cathedral, where Archbishop of Canterbury Dame Sarah Mullally is beginning her first address to the nation after being named as the next leader of the Church of England.

You can watch live at the top of our page – stay with us for the key lines.

Dame Sarah Mullally – who previously served as the Bishop of London – is the first woman to take over the centuries-old role of Archbishop of Canterbury.

The new Archbishop of Canterbury, Dame Sarah Mullally, has just shared her first statement.

Here it is in full:

“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.”

Prime Minister Keir Starmer welcomes Dame Sarah Mullally’s appointment as the first female Archbishop of Canterbury.

“The Church of England is of profound importance to this country.

“Its churches, cathedrals, schools, and charities are part of the fabric of our communities,” he says.

“The Archbishop of Canterbury will play a key role in our national life. I wish her every success and look forward to working together.”

Lord Evans of Weardale, who chaired proceedings to appoint Justin Welby’s successor, says it has been a “great privilege” to chair the Crown Nominations Commission.

“I would like to thank all those who took part in this process, particularly those who took time to share their views in the consultation and the members of the commission who worked so diligently over several months,” he adds.

The Archbishop of Canterbury is seen predominantly as the spiritual leader of the Anglican church all over the world.

They also hold an important role in public life – holding a seat in the House of Lords of the UK Parliament.

This means they lead debates, speak on issues – including those related to religious freedoms – and respond to events of national importance.

Dame Sarah Mullally is the 106th cleric to take up the position. Her appointment follows the deadly attack on a synagogue in Manchester on Thursday. It’s likely some of her first remarks will make reference to this.

One of the first challenges facing the new archbishoppublished at 10:08 BST

Harry Farley
BBC News

One of Sarah Mullally’s roles since her appointment asBishop of London was to chair a body trying to steer the Church of England’sdecision on whether to bless same-sex marriages.

Mullally described the decision to finally allow priests tobless same-sex couples in 2023 as “a moment of hope for the Church”.

But alluding to the deep divisions that still exist in theChurch over the issue, she said: “I know that what we have proposed as a wayforward does not go nearly far enough for many, but too far for others.”

One of her challenges as archbishop will be to navigatethose disagreements.

In her opening sermon as Bishop of London in 2018, Mullally spoke of the challenges facing the capital, particularly escalating knife crime, and referenced historical sexual abuse within the Church.

She told the congregation that 105 years ago suffragettes tried to detonate a bomb under the seat on which she been enthroned moments earlier.

“Let me reassure you I do not come carrying bombs – or perhaps not literal ones anyway!

“But I am aware that as the first woman Bishop of London I am necessarily subversive — and it’s a necessity I intend to embrace,” the Times reported, external.

Mullally makes history, againpublished at 10:04 BST

Aleem Maqbool
Religion editor

For the first time in nearly 500 years of history, the Church of England has nominated a woman to lead it.

Dame Sarah Mullally, 63, has been appointed the Archbishop of Canterbury Designate.

She was breaking new ground in her chosen profession even before she became a priest.

In 1999 she became the youngest ever chief nursing officer for England.

For more than seven years she has served as Bishop of London, the third most senior member of clergy in the Church and the first woman to do that job.

Women have only been allowed to become priests in the Church of England since the mid-1990s.

But there are senior bishops in the Church of England who are openly opposed to women joining the priesthood at all, never mind leading the institution.

Legislation requires Archbishops of Canterbury to retire at the age of 70, which is perhaps one reason why some had not viewed Dame Sarah Mullally as a front runner to be selected.

Instead she has made history. A date for her enthronement ceremony is yet to be announced.

Dame Sarah Mullally has been named as the new Archbishop of Canterbury.

She is the first woman appointed to the Church of England’s most senior clerical role in its nearly 500-year history.

Stay with us for further updates.

As we’ve been reporting, the new Archbishop of Canterbury will be named today. It comes almost a year after Justin Welby resigned over his role in a safeguarding scandal.

The process of choosing a successor to lead the Church of England has been overseen by a committee chaired by a former head of MI5.

In December last year, the prime minister appointed Lord Evans of Weardale (Jonathan Evans) as chairman of the Crown Nominations Commission for Canterbury.

The Crown Nominations Commissions is the Church’s committee responsible for nominating candidates.

For the first time, women are eligible for the post.

The Church of England has been without a leader for nearly a year, after Justin Welby resigned last November over his failure to report prolific child abuser John Smyth.

He faced mounting pressure to step down following a damning independent review which found Welby – the most senior bishop within the Church – and other figures “knew, at the highest level” in 2013 about Smyth’s abuse and should have reported him to the authorities.

Smyth, a barrister by trade ran Christian summer camps, where he was accused of attacking dozens of boys in the UK in the 1970s and 1980s. He later moved to Zimbabwe and South Africa where he abused up to 100 boys aged 13 to 17.

Amid mounting pressure, Welby who had previously resisted calls to step down, acknowledged he must take “personal and institutional responsibility” and resigned.

He formally relinquished the role in January, putting an end to over a decade in post as Archbishop of Canterbury.

While there is no shortlist of names in line to become the new Archbishop of Canterbury, various people have been floated.

This includes the current Bishop of Chelmsford, Guli Francis-Dehqani, who fled Iran with her family as a teenager.

Other women tipped for the role include the Bishop of Gloucester, the Rt Rev Rachel Treweek, and the Bishop of London, Dame Sarah Mullally.

Men thought to be in the running include the Bishop of Bath and Wells, Michael Beasley, and the Bishop of Sheffield, the Rt Revd Dr Pete Wilcox.

The Church of England has been without a leader for almost a year, after Justin Welby resigned following a safeguarding scandal.

Today, we are expecting to hear who his replacement will be, with many hopeful that the new Archbishop of Canterbury will be a woman.

Both female and male bishops are in the running. Women were first allowed to be ordained as priests in the Church in 1994, and the first female bishop appointments trailed 20 years later, in 2014.

Stay with us as we await the announcement, which we’ll share with you here as soon as we get it.