A Catholic woman who flew from the United States for the installation of the first female Archbishop of Canterbury has voiced her hope that the Vatican is “paying attention” to the historic occasion.
Jane Varner Malhotra, 57, from Washington DC, held a sign reading “Catholics, let’s do this” outside Canterbury Cathedral in Kent on Wednesday, ahead of Dame Sarah Mullally’s ministry beginning.
Ms Varner Malhotra, a member of the Women’s Ordination Conference, has advocated for women’s ordination in the Catholic Church for 50 years.
Dame Sarah’s appointment marks the first time a woman has held the Church’s highest office in its 1,400-year history.
That sits in stark contrast to the Catholic Church, which still does not permit women to be ordained.
Ms Varner Malhotra said: “I feel like you all are lucky, and I hope the Catholics can get ourselves together and get this going quickly.
“It was incredibly heart-warming to walk down the line of people as they were getting ready to enter and so many, representing different religions and communities of faith, cheering us on.
“Whereas I’ve been to the Vatican before, outside the Vatican, and a lot of Catholics feel they can’t express vocal support for this.”
Ms Varner Malhotra added: “Since I was a child, I wanted to be an altar server, and at that time they wouldn’t let girls do that.
“Ever since then I’ve been helping expand the Catholic imagination for what women can do.
“I’m here to celebrate this incredible, historic day for people around the world, whether or not you’re Christian, whether or not you’re Anglican or Catholic, it’s just a great milestone for people to see women in these important roles.”
Asked about Dame Sarah, Ms Varner Malhotra said she is a “natural leader”, adding: “You could see that from her pilgrimage to get here, not many people take that kind of approach.”
Dame Sarah walked to Canterbury from London on a six-day pilgrimage, which ended on Sunday.
During the Wednesday service, she renewed her vows and commitments to ministry, and made an oath on the scriptures, using the St John’s Bible which was given to the cathedral in 2023.
She was then placed into the Diocesan cathedra, known as the Bishop’s Chair, which dates from 1844, and then installed in the ancient Chair of St Augustine – dating from the early 13th century – in which archbishops have been installed for many centuries.
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