The trip marked Mullally's first visit to Africa and highlighted the Church of England's controversial reparations fund to address its historic links to slavery.
The encounter between Christianity’s two most famous religious figures would have been unthinkable just a few years ago, given the divisions between their two churches over women’s ordination.
In addition to heading the Church of England, the Archbishop of Canterbury is the spiritual leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion, including the Episcopal Church in the U.S.
Sarah Mullally's appointment instantly makes her one of the most recognized Christian figures in the world, alongside the pope.
The worldwide Anglican Communion, which includes the Episcopal Church in the U.S., has no formal head, but the archbishop traditionally has been seen as its spiritual leader.
The Church of England has countered with posters at bus stops and other locations that say ‘Christ has always been in Christmas’ and ‘Outsiders welcome.’
After decades of fierce controversies over sexuality and theology, some leaders of a conservative coalition say it's time to make a final break from what has long been one of the world's largest Protestant church families.
Naming a woman to the position is a major milestone for a church that ordained its first female priests in 1994 and its first female bishop in 2015. Mullally follows 105 men who have led Anglicans worldwide.
An investigation found that he failed to tell police about serial physical and sexual abuse by a volunteer at Christian summer camps as soon as he became aware of it.
The commitment falls short of demands from some campaigners for institutions that benefited from slavery to pay compensation to descendants of the enslaved.