His Holiness, Pope Leo XIV, has given an ecumenical message urging healing from the wounds of separation within Christendom.
He said this while receiving in audience, the Most Rev. Dame Sarah Mullally, the newly installed Archbishop of Canterbury, during a historic four-day pilgrimage to Rome from 25 to 28 April 2026.
Pope Leo XIV
“It would be a scandal if, due to our divisions, we did not fulfill our common vocation.”
“It would be a scandal if, due to our divisions, we did not fulfill our common vocation to make Christ known,” the pontiff noted when he received the Archbishop in his Apostolic Palace on Monday, 27 April.
The successor of St. Peter suggested that Christians must work hard to overcome differences that blur Christian unity.
“For my part, I add that it would also be a scandal if we did not continue to work towards overcoming our differences, no matter how intractable they may appear,” the Vicar of Christ stated.
The visit aimed to strengthen Anglican–Roman Catholic relations and formal theological dialogue.
Prayer and exchange of gifts
Both leaders focused on shared calls for peace and social justice amid global conflicts, with Archbishop Mullally praising the Pope for his outspokenness on world injustices.
An elated Mullally responded, saying, “Your Holiness, thank you for your gracious welcome and for your prayers and kind wishes at my time of my installation.”
Most Rev. Dame Sarah Mullally, the newly installed Archbishop of Canterbury. Credit: EWTN
During the historic visit, which marked her first foreign engagement since becoming the first woman to lead the Church of England in March 2026, the Archbishop of Canterbury maintained, “I am deeply grateful. It is a joy and privilege to be received by you together with this delegation.”
High points of the meeting between the two most powerful religious leaders include praying together in the Chapel of Urban VIII, exchanging gifts, which include a jar of honey from Lambeth Palace
Pope Leo also showed the female Archbishop a photobook containing images of the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea.
Pope Leo and Archbishop Mullally at the Apostolic Palace on Monday, 27 April.
Pilgrim visits to Major Basilicas
While in Rome, she visited St. Peter’s Basilica and prayed at the tomb of St Peter, and also had a pilgrimage at St. Paul’s outside the walls, where he prelate also prayed at the tomb of St. Paul to mark the anniversary of the 1966 common declaration between Archbishop Ramsey and Pope Paul VI.
Rev. Mullally made a stop at St. John Lateran and St. Mary Major, where she made pilgrim-visits to both major basilicas.
During an engagement with Rome’s Anglican Community, she visited All Saints’ Anglican Church, where she presided at a Sung Eucharist and performed baptisms on Sunday morning.
The Archbishop also preached during a Choral Evensong service at St. Paul’s within the walls and commissioned Bishop Anthony Ball as her Representative to the Holy See at the Anglican Centre in Rome.
Editor’s Note: All photos, including the featured image, are screenshots from EWTN.
