Vatican City, April 24 (EFE).- Pope Leo XIV will receive next Monday at the Vatican, in a private audience, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally, the first woman named primate of the Anglican Church, as confirmed this Friday by the Holy See.
The meeting, scheduled for 09:30 local time (07:30 GMT) at the Apostolic Palace, constitutes the first formal meeting between both religious leaders.
After the meeting, both will share a moment of prayer in the Urban VIII Chapel, added the Press Office of the Holy See.
This quote continues the message sent by the American pontiff on March 26, on the occasion of Mullally’s enthronement, in which Leo XIV assured that he would continue dialogue for Christian unity.
The Archbishop of Canterbury could not be present at the historic joint prayer that took place last October between the British monarch Charles III and the pontiff in the Sistine Chapel, as she had not taken office at that time.
On that occasion, Leo XIV presided, together with the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, at the ecumenical prayer dedicated to the defense of the environment.
Next Monday’s event coincides with the 60th anniversary of the historic 1966 meeting between Paul VI and Michael Ramsey, which marked the first formal meeting in 400 years between a pontiff and an archbishop of Canterbury.
Since then, contacts have continued with gestures such as the participation of Archbishop George Carey with John Paul II in the opening of the Holy Door in 2000, or the presence of Rowan Williams in the Vatican on different occasions, including the 2012 Synod.
The Anglican Church, created in 1534 as a split from the Church of Rome, was born as an English national church, but expanded throughout the world, mainly with the British Empire, and its 85 million followers are today found mainly in Asia and Africa. EFE
