LONDON (AP) — Bishop of London Sarah Mullally shattered a stained-glass ceiling Friday when she was announced as the next Archbishop of Canterbury, the first time a woman has been chosen as the Church of England's spiritual leader.

Mullally, 63, a former cancer nurse who became England's youngest chief nursing officer before joining the clergy, faces serious challenges in the church that include 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

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