Join us as the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury Blesses the City
On Wednesday 25th March, Canterbury Cathedral will host the Installation of the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Elisabeth Mullally, which will conclude with a blessing of the city.
The blessing will take place at 4.30pm in the Buttermarket, just outside of Christ Church Gate – which has been recently unveiled in time for the Installation, after extensive conservation works – and all are warmly welcomed to join for this momentous occasion.
Archbishop Sarah will be welcomed by the Lord Mayor of Canterbury, Keji Moses, who will recall that Canterbury has been the seat and home of the Archbishops since the 6th century when King Ethelbert and Queen Bertha welcomed St Augustine to Kent. She will then thank the Lord Mayor who will invite her to bless the city, diocese and nation, their people and their communities; and then pronounce God’s blessing.
Dean David said, “Many bishops when installed go outside their cathedrals to bless their city and diocese – it relates to the Church of England’s care and concern for the entire people of England irrespective if they attend church or are of no or other faith.
There are images of previous archbishop’s blessing people gathered outside the cathedral.
Now that security concerns are greater in 2026 and so the general public will not be able to enter the Precincts (unusually Canterbury is surrounded by medieval walls and gates), the Archbishop will go out through Christ Church Gate (this has just been restored and is associated with prince Arthur and Catherine of Aragon). She will be greeted by the Mayor of Canterbury as the first citizen, and she will pray for the city and the diocese.”
Having departed on Tuesday 17 March, Archbishop Sarah Mullally is currently undertaking a pilgrimage from St Paul’s Cathedral to Canterbury, as part of her spiritual preparation for her Installation.
She will be joined on the final stretch by Dean David and members of the Cathedral chapter, to walk from Chartham to Canterbury, arriving in time for Evensong on Sunday 22 March.
Both the Cathedral and wider community of Canterbury look forward to welcoming Archbishop Sarah and all who will be visiting the city for this historic occasion.
The teams at Canterbury Cathedral and Lambeth Palace who are involved in planning the Installation service and other related events are in regular contact with the UK Health Security Agency regarding recent cases of Meningitis in Kent.
The HSA continue to advise that the event is regarded by them as ‘low risk’ and that there is no need to take any specific action at this time.
We are nevertheless keeping the situation under constant review and will update if the advice from the HSA changes.