The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev Sarah Mullally, will begin a 10-day pastoral visit to the Church of the Province of West Africa on Sunday (26 July), her first visit to Africa since being installed as Archbishop of Canterbury in March 2026.
At the invitation of the Primate of West Africa and Bishop of Asante-Mampong, the Most Rev Dr Cyril Kobina Ben-Smith, Archbishop Sarah will visit the Church in Ghana and the Diocese of Cameroon, which are both part of the Church of the Province of West Africa.
Throughout the pastoral visit, Archbishop Sarah will be praying and worshipping with Anglican congregations, learning about their joys and challenges, and seeing the vital role they play in their communities and societies.
The visit will start in Ghana’s capital of Accra on Sunday, July 26. After visiting four local parishes on Sunday morning, the Archbishop will preach at St Joseph the Worker Anglican Church, Kaneshie, in a Eucharist led entirely by female clergy from the Anglican Church of Ghana.
Following the service, and along with Archbishop Cyril, she will lay a foundation stone for a pilgrimage hostel that is part of the Anglican Church in Ghana’s Heritage Anglican Culture Village and Resorts initiative. Supported by USPG, the hostel will accommodate pilgrims from the African diaspora visiting Ghana and the slave sites for cultural rediscovery and healing.
On Monday, the Archbishop will pay a courtesy call to President John Dramani Mahama at Jubilee House and meet with the Bishops of the Internal Province of Ghana in the afternoon.
On Tuesday, Archbishop Sarah will hold meetings with ecumenical and interfaith leaders, the Anglican Young People Association, and members of the Mothers’ Union.
On Wednesday, she will travel to Kumasi, where she will preach at a service for over a thousand healthcare students at St Monica’s Nursing and Midwifery Training College, and visit the neighbouring Mampong Babies Home. Archbishop Sarah, who was a nurse before her ordination, will commission a new clinic at the college named in her honour. She will also meet His Majesty Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the King of the Ashanti, at Manhiya Palace.
On Thursday, the Archbishop will travel to Cape Coast for a visit to Cape Coast Castle, the 17th-century fort where enslaved people were imprisoned before being transported to the Americas.
In Cameroon, Archbishop Sarah will spend time with Bishop Dibo Thomas-Babyngton Elango, the Bishop of Cameroon, and clergy and congregations across the Diocese in Yaoundé, Douala, Buea, and Limbe. She will visit Biaka University and the Doctor Biaka Memorial Foundation, which provides specialist healthcare education for nurses and midwives, and meet with Anglican clergy from the region.
On Sunday, she will preach at a service at Bishopscourt in Douala and visit St Michael and All Angels’ Cathedral and Emmanuel Parish. She will also have a courtesy meeting with the Government of Cameroon in Yaoundé before concluding her visit.
Archbishop Sarah said: “I am looking forward with joy to spending time with our Anglican brothers and sisters in Ghana and Cameroon, and I am grateful to Archbishop Cyril Kobina Ben-Smith and Bishop Dibo for their generosity and hospitality.
“Across 19 dioceses and eight countries, the Church of the Province of West Africa is a beacon of faithful service, boldly living out the good news of Jesus Christ. From parish churches and healthcare projects to the Anglican Young People Association and branches of the Mothers’ Union, it will be a privilege to witness all God is doing there and to worship and pray with those across the region.”
