Imogen James
Live reporter

Today marked a moment in history for the Church, as the role of Archbishop of Canterbury was given to a woman for the first time in its near 500-year history.

In her first address in the role, Mullally thanked the women that had gone before her. She also spoke of the "quieter and stronger" hope offered by the Anglican church in an "age that craves certainty and tribalism".

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he wishes her "every success", while the King congratulated Mullally.

Dame Sarah Mullally takes the helm during a difficult period for the Church of England, after its former leader - Justin Welby - resigned over a safeguarding scandal.

Mullally told Canterbury Cathedral today that "it won't be easy" to address the "misuse of power" within the Church, but acknowledged she had already seen a "cultural shift".

She will be officially confirmed in the role in January, followed by an enthronement service.

Our live coverage is ending here, but you can read more about the Archbishop and what's next for her in this take by our religion editor.

The King has congratulated Dame Sarah Mullally on her new role.

A palace spokesperson said: "The King approved the prime minister's recommendation on 29 September.

"His Majesty congratulates Bishop Sarah on her appointment as archbishop-designate, a role which is of such importance in the UK and across the global Anglican Communion."

Church officials previously sceptical at woman appointmentpublished at 11:43 BST

11:43 BST

Harry Farley
BBC News

The first female Archbishop of Canterbury is a big deal for the Church of England, where there are still some who oppose women being priests and bishops for theological reasons.

Sarah Mullally was frequently named on shortlists of potential candidates.

But church officials had been sceptical the committee would chose a woman, with one senior source saying it would be a “huge step for the Church of England to appoint a woman”.

“She won’t get it because she’s a woman. That is taken as given,” one senior source previously told BBC News.

Despite those doubts, the Church has made that step.

Harry Farley
BBC News

Image source, PA Media

One of the areas Sarah Mullally has been most outspoken about it is assisted dying.

She is a vociferous opponent, as was her predecessor Justin Welby.

When the legislation passed the House of Commons she described it as “unworkable and unsafe", adding that it "poses a risk to the most vulnerable people in our society”.

Later in the debate in the House of Lords, she warned the Bill “fails in its central plank, that it delivers choice”.

She told peers last month that “choice is an illusion” and said she believed “no amendments to this Bill that can safeguard us completely from its negative effects”.

Image source, Getty Images

Dame Sarah Mullally, 63, has become the first woman to be named Archbishop of Canterbury in the Church of England's almost 500-year history.

But before she became a priest in 2006, she had a successful career as a nurse.

Married with two children, she spent over 35 years in the NHS - and became the youngest-ever chief nursing officer for England in 1999.

Although she was volunteering in the Church at the time, it was just a few years later that she decided to become a priest and was quickly tasked with helping make reforms in the way the institution dealt with abuse.

She became canon treasurer at Salisbury Cathedral in 2012, before becoming Bishop of Crediton in the diocese of Exeter in 2015.

As Bishop of London she was seen as someone who used her experience as an NHS administrator to help modernise the diocese.

She said at the time of that appointment: "I am often asked what it has been like to have had two careers, first in the NHS and now in the Church.

"I prefer to think that I have always had one vocation: to follow Jesus Christ".

One of the areas she has been most outspoken about it is assisted dying - she is a vociferous opponent, as was her predecessor.

And she described the decision to finally allow priests to bless same-sex couples in 2023 as "a moment of hope for the Church".

Dame Sarah Mullally has just finished giving her first speech after being appointed as the new Archbishop of Canterbury. Here are five key takeaways:

• In a wide-ranging speech at Canterbury Cathedral, Mullally took pause to address "profound global uncertainty"
• Turning to what gives her hope, she said: "In an age that craves certainty and tribalism, Anglicanism offers something quieter and stronger"
• On the deadly attack on a synagogue in Manchester, she said "hatred and racism of any kind cannot be allowed to tear us apart" - adding that the Church had a responsibility to "stand with the Jewish community against antisemitism"
• Mullally also spoke at length on the "misuse of power" within the Church of England. Addressing it "will not be easy", she said, as she vowed to listen to survivors and the vulnerable
• She made minimal reference to her being the first woman in the centuries-old role, but thanked the woman that had gone before her for their "support and inspiration"

Mullally says there has been "much talk today about this being a historic moment" - adding that she shares in that joy.

Some will be asking what it means for a woman to lead the Church of England, she poses, and responds: "I intend to be a shepherd, who enables everyone's ministry and vocation to flourish - whatever the tradition".

Mullally goes on to thank all the women that have gone before her for their support and inspiration.

"I will not always get things right," she goes on to say, before asking those listening to "please pray for me, as I pray for you".

Her address ends. We'll bring you a round up of the key lines shortly.

Image source, Reuters

Continuing, Mullally notes that "safeguarding is everyone's business," and those in senior leadership positions within the Church of England have additional accountability.

The role of an Archbishop of Canterbury is "complex and challenging," but there is also "something very simple about it," she adds.

"The role that I will take on next year is one that can only be done together," Mullally says.

She goes on to cite a proverb, saying that our ministry as Christians is always shared. "If you want to go fast, go alone - if you want to go far, go together."

Addressing recent safeguarding reviews and reports in the Church of England, Dame Sarah Mullally says: "As a Church we have to often failed to take seriously the misuse of power in all its forms."

She pledges that in her new role she will listen to survivors and the vulnerable.

She continues: "This will not be easy. We must all be wiling to have lights shone on our actions, regardless of our role within the Church."

Mullally acknowledges she has seen a "cultural shift within safeguarding".

Image source, PA Media

Continuing her address, Mullally says: "I long for that same hope, for all those around the world caught up in war, for those living in extreme poverty" and those living in worsening climate crisis.

She extends this hope to "all peoples of the Middle East", including "our Palestinian brothers and sisters", as well as those in Ukraine, Russia, Myanmar and the DRC.

"May God bring hope to those living in despair," she adds.

We're still listening to Dame Sarah Mullally's first address after being named the next Archbishop of Canterbury.

"Across our nation today we're wrestling with complex moral and political questions," she says, including the legal right of terminally ill people to end their own life, society's response to people fleeing war and the pressure on communities "who have been overlooked and undervalued".

Addressing Thursday's deadly attack on a synagogue in Manchester, she says: "We're witnessing hatred that rises up through fractures across our communities."

She says it's the Church's responsibility to stand with the Jewish community against antisemitism.

"Hatred and racism of any kind cannot be allowed to tear us apart," she adds.

Image source, Reuters

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 Bishop 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."

Image source, EPA

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

10:08 BST

Harry Farley
BBC News

Image source, Reuters

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

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

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

One of her challenges as archbishop will be to navigate those disagreements.