Archbishop of Canterbury preaches at St. Paul’s Within the Walls during 4-day Rome pilgrimage

[Episcopal News Service – Rome, Italy] In her first homily outside the Church of England, Archbishop of Canterbury Sarah Mullally preached on April 26 during a choral Evensong at Rome’s St. Paul’s Within the Walls about what the church is called to be in an increasingly polarized world, a place where hospitality is essential to Christian witness, not simply an option.

The church is called, she said, “to be a place of encounter and dialogue across difference, a place where we do not begin with suspicion, but with a deeper truth – that every person is created in the image and likeness of God.”

“To recognize that image in the other, especially when it is difficult to do so, is at the very heart of Christian hospitality.”

READ: Full text of Mullally’s sermon.

Mullally’s visit to St. Paul’s, an Episcopal church, was one stop on a four-day pilgrimage that began a day earlier, on April 25, when she prayed at the tomb of St. Peter beneath the main altar in the Vatican’s St. Peter’s Basilica and then later at the tomb of St. Paul at St. Paul’s Outside the Walls. Both are papal basilicas. St. Paul’s Outside the Walls is the site where the first Common Declaration, the formal ecumenical statements between Anglican and Roman Catholic churches, was signed by Archbishop of Canterbury Michael Ramsey and Pope Paul VI on March 24, 1966.

Sixty years later, Mullally, the 106th archbishop of Canterbury and the first woman to hold the office in its 1,400-year history, met and prayed with Pope Leo XIV, the first American-born pope, on April 27.

The pilgrimage’s purpose is to strengthen Anglican–Roman Catholic relations through prayer, personal encounter and formal theological dialogue. Moreover, it aims to deepen bonds of communion, affirm a shared witness and encourage ongoing collaboration at both global and local levels, according to a Lambeth Palace press release.

Mullally’s visit also comes as St. Paul’s Within the Walls, the first non-Catholic church built within Rome’s ancient walls, prepares to celebrate its 150th anniversary in June.

The church “stands as a quiet yet powerful sign of Christian presence, witness and hope — hope that division is not the final word, hope that the Church, though wounded, is not beyond healing,” Mullally said in her homily, and expressing joy in her visit to the church.

“And more than that: It is a place that calls us to renewed confidence in the Gospel itself – that this Gospel remains good news, not only for a past age, but for our world today,” she said. “The very history of this church speaks of courage, vision and faithfulness in a particular moment of opening and possibility. And it continues to bear that witness today.”

Given its long-standing presence in the city, St. Paul’s has a unique calling.

“Here in Rome – a city that holds within it both the pain of division and the promise of unity – you are entrusted with a particular responsibility, a responsibility for Christian unity, not only within our own Communion, but reaching beyond it.”

Unity, she said, goes beyond theological dialogue and is found “in the relationships forged on the ground, among those who live, worship and serve here in Rome, among those who meet, listen and walk together day by day.”

This is done, she said, by welcoming the stranger, caring for the marginalized and accompanying refugees. In that regard, she mentioned St. Paul’s hospitality toward refugees.

“The ministry of the Joel Nafuma Refugee Center stands as a powerful expression of that calling, a sign of the Gospel lived out in concrete acts of compassion and solidarity,” she said.

Mullally preached to a full house at St. Paul’s. Earlier that morning, she presided at a sung Eucharist at All Saints’ Anglican Church, which has served as an active chaplaincy since 1887.

Regarding her visit, the Rev. Jonathan Evans, St. Paul’s priest-in-charge, told Episcopal News Service: “It’s an honor, and it speaks to the importance of The Episcopal Church’s witness here in Rome. … For the church to be an effective and beautiful witness, I think, it is a gift to all, a gift to Rome and beyond.”

St. Paul’s is part of the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe, which is present in eight countries. All Saints’ is part of the Church of England’s Diocese in Europe.

“I think it’s a great honor that Archbishop Mulally has chosen an Episcopal church to make her first visit to a church outside the Church of England in the communion, and we are delighted that she chose to be here on this significant anniversary of this second-oldest congregation [the American Cathedral in Paris is the oldest] outside the United States,” the Rt. Rev. Mark Edington told ENS following the Evensong.

“This church was founded in 1860, and the building that we’re celebrating was dedicated in 1876, so it’s a big, big year for St Paul’s … and St Paul’s is a leader in all of our church for ministry with refugees. We’re delighted that she honored that and what she said in her sermon this evening.”

The archbishop is scheduled on April 28 to visit the Joel Nafuma Refugee Center, which has served refugees and migrants from its base at St. Paul’s since the 1980s and now serves as a model for similar ministries across the convocation. In partnership with Episcopal Relief & Development, the convocation’s refugee and migrant ministries have served 300,000 people over the past 3 1/2 years.

-Lynette Wilson is managing editor of Episcopal News Service.