Historic quote: Pope prays with first female archbishop of Canterbury

Leo XIV urged her to continue on the path of unity among Christians “in the face of a world that suffers and urgently needs the peace of Christ.”

The two met privately at the Vatican Apostolic Palace and later gave speeches. The Pope explained that Christians must be “messengers of peace” because Jesus “always responded to violence and aggression in an unarmed way, inviting us to do the same.”

The Anglicans They separated from Rome in 1534 when the English King Henry VIII was denied the annulment of his marriage by the Pope. Despite the formal theological dialogue that began in the 1960s, big differences persist, especially by the decision of the Church of England to order women while the Catholic Church reserves the priesthood only to men.

In his speech this Monday, The Pope quoted the Argentine Pope Francis, telling Anglican primates that “it would be a scandal if, because of our divisions, we did not fulfill our common vocation to make Christ known.”

“For my part, I add that it would also be a scandal if we did not continue working to overcome our differences, however intractable they may seem,” said Leo XIV.

In turn, Archbishop Mullally stated that “in today’s world we are called to live and preach the Gospel with renewed clarity. In the face of inhuman violence, deep division and rapid social change, we must continue to tell a more hopeful story.”

The pontiff said that “while our suffering world urgently needs the peace of Christ, divisions among Christians weaken our ability to bring it effectively. For the world to welcome our preaching, we must persevere in prayer and in striving to remove any obstacles that impede the proclamation of the Gospel.”

León recognized that “although no progress has been made on some historically divisive issues, in recent decades new problems have emerged that make it difficult to discern the path to full communion.”

Anglicans do not recognize the authority of the Pope. The highest leader of the Anglican Church is the British monarch. They also do not accept the dogmas of the Virgin Maryand their religious do not respect celibacy. In 1992 the priestly ordination of women was approved.

Archbishop Mullally called to “work for the common good by building always bridges and never walls. The poorest among us are those closest to the heart of God and the forces of death are defeated by the resurrected life of Christ.”

To the Pope he said: “Your Holiness, you have spoken with great eloquence about the many injustices that plague our world today, but even more eloquently about hope. Your pilgrimage to Africa was full of life and joy. The world needed that message at this time, thank you.”

Archbishop Mullally, whose appointment has divided the already fractured Anglican communionmet with Pope Leo in his library. Afterwards, the two prayed together in the chapel of Urban VIII, in the Apostolic Palace, for what the Vatican said was “a moment of prayer.”

The Archbishop of Canterbury’s four-day pilgrimage to Rome included visits to the main pontifical basilicasin which he prayed next to the tombs of Saints Peter and Paul. He also met with senior Vatican officials.

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the first formal ecumenical declaration between the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches, signed in 1965 in St Paul’s Basilica by Pope Paul VI and Archbishop Michael Ramsey.