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The 63-year-old former NHS chief nurse has been appointed as the new Archbishop of Canterbury designate - creating a milestone as the first woman to be chosen for this significant position.

A former NHS chief nurse, the sixty-three-year-old entered the priesthood in 2006 and was appointed as the initial woman to serve as Bishop of London in 2018 - occupying the third highest position of clergy in the Church of England.

This represents the initial occasion in nearly 500 years of history that the Anglican Communion has selected a female to assume its leadership.

Groundbreaking Selection

The Anglican Church has been without someone in the leading position for almost a year after the previous Archbishop stepped down over a safeguarding scandal.

He departed following a damning report into a prolific child abuser associated with the Church. The investigation found that he "could and should" have reported John Smyth's abuse of boys and young men to law enforcement in 2013.

The Archbishop of York assumed most of the former Archbishop's duties in an temporary arrangement, and was one of the voting members of the committee charged with choosing his replacement.

Official Process

In line with tradition, the procedure of choosing a spiritual leader involves a name being given to the Prime Minister and then forwarded to the sovereign.

The Prime Minister has applauded the selection of Dame Sarah, stating: "This position will play a key role in our national life. I wish her every success and look forward to working together."

Although formally, the King is leader of the Church of England, the individual occupying the role of spiritual leader is the most senior bishop and is the religious guide of the Church and the worldwide Anglican Communion.

Monarchical and Global Response

King Charles III has praised Dame Sarah on her new role, "which is of such importance in the United Kingdom and across the worldwide Anglican community", the royal household stated.

The Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans, which advocates for traditional positions, has criticised the selection, stating that although some will welcome it, "the majority of the global church still maintains that the scriptures mandates a male-only episcopacy."

Handover Process

She will not formally assume her position until a formal approval process in the new year, and an enthronement service comes subsequently, after they have pledged allegiance to the monarch.

In a declaration on Friday after her new role was finalized, she commented: "I recognize this is a significant undertaking but I approach it with a feeling of calm and trust in God to support me as has consistently occurred."

Speaking from Canterbury Cathedral, she noted that "in an age that seeks absolute answers and group identity, Anglicanism provides a more subtle approach but stronger."

Addressing Violence

Talking about the "terrible attack" of the previous day's incident on a Jewish house of worship in the northern city, she said "we are witnessing hatred that emerges through fractures across our society."

She continued: "The religious community have a duty to be a people who stand with the Jewish community against prejudice against Jews in every manifestation. Prejudice and discrimination of any kind cannot be allowed to tear us apart."

Background and Career

A mother of two, she devoted more than three decades in the National Health Service, becoming the most junior person to serve as chief nurse for England in 1999.

While serving voluntarily in the religious community at the period, it was just a few years later that she decided to become a priest and was promptly assigned helping implement changes in the way the institution dealt with misconduct.

In that year she became canon treasurer at the historic church before assuming the role of diocesan leader in the diocese of Exeter in 2015.

As London's religious leader she was regarded as someone who used her experience as an NHS administrator to help update the diocese.

Guiding Principles

"People frequently inquire what it has been like to have had two careers, first in the NHS and currently in the religious institution.

"I like to consider that I have always had a single calling: to follow Jesus Christ, to know him and to make him known, continually striving to live with compassion in the service of others, whether as a nurse, a religious leader, or a bishop."

Upcoming Responsibilities

Perhaps the most urgent thing in her agenda is still to develop improved approaches towards dealing with abuse and approaching with greater empathy those affected by it.

There has also been a decline in religious participation, though the capital has to a degree bucked that trend.

One of the areas she has been most outspoken about is assisted dying - she is a vociferous opponent, as was her preceding Archbishop.

When legislation was approved in the House of Commons, she characterized it as "unworkable and unsafe and creates danger to the most at-risk individuals in our community."

Modern Positions

Among her responsibilities as London's religious leader was to chair a committee trying to steer the religious institution's determination on whether to bless same-sex marriages.

She characterized the decision to ultimately permit priests to bless same-sex couples in last year as "an optimistic development for the Church."

A former Archbishop, described her new role as requiring a "awareness of current affairs and a Bible in the other."

The former spiritual leader told media outlets "the expectation of having an opinion on everything is quite heavy."