The Rt Revd Sarah Mullally DBE will be the next Bishop of London. Succeeding the Rt Revd and Right Hon Richard Chartres KCVO, who retired as Bishop of London last year, Bishop Sarah will be installed at St Paul’s Cathedral and be the 133rd person to hold the position.

A video introducing Bishop Sarah can be viewed here.

A trained nurse, Bishop Sarah became the youngest person to be appointed to the post of Chief Nursing Officer for England in 1999 and was a senior civil servant in the Department of Health before ordination. She was ordained in 2001 and served her curacy in St Saviour’s Battersea Fields, initially as a self-supporting minister, before leaving her Government post in 2004 and subsequently taking up full-time ministry in the London Borough of Sutton.

Made a Dame Commander of the British Empire in 2005 in recognition of her outstanding contribution to nursing and
midwifery, she was installed in 2012 as Canon Treasurer at Salisbury Cathedral. In 2015 Bishop Sarah became Bishop of Crediton in the Diocese of Exeter, primarily serving North and East Devon and is a member of the Church of England’s National Safeguarding Steering Group.

“It is a great honour to be nominated to the See of London,” says Bishop Sarah. “Having lived and worked in London for over 32 years, the thought of returning here is about returning home. 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, to know him and to make him known, always seeking to live with compassion in the service of others, whether as a nurse, a priest or as a bishop. To be given the opportunity to do that now in this vibrant world city is a wonderful privilege.”

Acting Bishop of London, the Rt Revd Peter Broadbent, said of the appointment: “I welcome the announcement of Bishop Sarah’s appointment and look forward with excitement to working under her leadership as our Diocesan Bishop. She has proven qualities of leadership and commitment to collaborative working. Bishop Sarah’s work in the public
square uniquely equips her for the important outward focus that is required in leading the Diocese in this great world city. She also brings strong experience of parish and cathedral life, and sees her vocational experience as nurse, civil servant, priest and bishop as a totality.”

“Her focus on safeguarding and pastoral care, and the way in which she has built good relationships across all the traditions of the church will stand her in good stead as she moves to London. She will make an excellent diocesan bishop and I know that God will use her energy and gifts to great effect in our capital city.”

(Information and picture from the Diocese of London website)