Pope Leo XIV meets Canterbury archbishop

Pope Leo XIV met Archbishop of Canterbury Sarah Mullally at the Vatican on Monday and prayed with her in a public show of Anglican-Catholic dialogue. (apnews.com) (vaticannews.va) The Vatican said Leo received Mullally in audience, then joined her for prayer in the Urban VIII Chapel of the Apostolic Palace. Mullally began a four-day pilgrimage to Rome on Monday. (vaticannews.va) (archbishopofcanterbury.org) In remarks released by the Vatican, Leo said Catholics and Anglicans must not let “continuing challenges” stop them from using “every possible opportunity” to proclaim Christ together. He also greeted Bishop Anthony Ball, who was due to be commissioned Monday evening as Mullally’s representative to the Holy See. (vatican.va) The encounter carried extra symbolism because Mullally is the first woman to lead the Church of England, while the Roman Catholic Church still reserves priestly ordination to men. AP said a meeting like this would have been hard to imagine only a few years ago. (apnews.com) (nytimes.com) Leo explicitly placed Monday’s meeting in the line of Pope Paul VI’s 1966 encounter with Archbishop Michael Ramsey. The Vatican and the Anglican Centre in Rome both marked that relationship’s 60th anniversary this year. (vaticannews.va) (vatican.va) A day earlier, Leo used a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica to sketch the pastoral tone he wants from clergy at home. He ordained 10 priests on Good Shepherd Sunday and told them, “you are a channel, not a filter.” (ewtnnews.com) (vaticannews.va) In that homily, Leo told the ordinands to “keep the door open,” let people in, and be ready to go out to meet them. Vatican News said he framed priesthood less as gatekeeping than as service that carries life to others. (ewtnvatican.com) (vaticannews.va) Taken together, the Rome meeting and the ordination homily showed Leo pairing ecumenical outreach abroad with a welcoming message to clergy at home. The Vatican cast both around Easter themes of peace, prayer, and common witness. (vatican.va) (vaticannews.va) For now, the practical result was modest but visible: a shared prayer, a public pledge to keep talking, and a reminder that the two churches are still trying to narrow a divide that dates to the English Reformation. (apnews.com) (vaticannews.va)