By DANICA KIRKA and BRIAN MELLEY, The Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — Bishop of London Sarah Mullally was announced Friday as the next Archbishop of Canterbury, the first time in 1,400 years that a woman has been chosen as the spiritual leader of the Church of England.

Mullally, 63, a former chief nursing officer for England, will face serious challenges including divisions over the treatment of women and LGBTQ people. She will also have to confront concerns that church leaders haven’t done enough to stamp out the sexual abuse scandals that have dogged the church for more than a decade.

The choice of Mullally as Archbishop of Canterbury-designate marks a major milestone for a church that ordained its first female priests in 1994 and its first female bishop in 2015. She follows 105 men wh

See Full Page