The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Revd and Rt Hon Dame Sarah Mullally, will begin a 10-day visit to the Church of the Province of West Africa on Sunday, July 26. This will be her first pastoral visit to the continent of Africa since being installed as Archbishop of Canterbury in March this year.  

At the invitation of the Primate of West Africa and Bishop of Asante-Mampong, the Most Revd Dr Cyril Kobina Ben‑Smith, Archbishop Sarah Mullally will visit the Church of 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 the Ghanaian capital of Accra on Sunday. After visiting five local parishes in the morning, the Archbishop will preach at St Joseph the Worker Anglican Church, Kanashie, 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 (27 July), Archbishop Sarah has been invited to meet with the President of Ghana, His Excellency President John Dramani Mahama, at Jubilee House. She will also meet and pray with the Bishops of the Internal Province of Ghana in the afternoon.  

On Tuesday (28 July), Archbishop Sarah will hold meetings with ecumenical and interfaith leaders, the Anglican Young People Association (a young adults group in the Church of Ghana) and members of the Mothers' Union. 

Archbishop Sarah will travel to Kumasi on Wednesday (29 July), where she will preach at a service for over a thousand healthcare students at St Monica’s Nursing and Midwifery Training College, and meet staff and children at the neighbouring Mampong Babies Home. Archbishop Sarah, who was a nurse before her ordination, is visiting to commission a new clinic at the college which is to be named in her honour.

In Kumasi, a city in Southern Ghana, the Archbishop will meet His Majesty Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the King of the Ashanti, at Manhiya Palace, before an Evensong service at which the Archbishop will preach.   

On Thursday ( July 30), the Archbishop will travel to Cape Coast Castle, a 17th-century fort where enslaved people were imprisoned before being transported to the Americas on British slave ships. She will then travel to Cameroon.

In Cameroon, Archbishop Sarah will spend time with Bishop Dibo Thomas-Babyngton Elango, the Bishop of Cameroon, as well as clergy and congregations across the Diocese. Among the parts of Cameroon, Archbishop Sarah plans to visit the capital, Yaoundé, in Douala and cities in the Southwest of the country, including Buea and Limbe.  

On Saturday (August 1) the Archbishop will visit the Biaka University in Buea, and its Doctor Biaka Memorial Foundation, which provides specialist healthcare education for nurses and midwives. In Limbe, she will meet with Anglican clergy from the region.  

On Sunday, she will preach a sermon at a service at Bishopscourt, the Diocese of Cameroon's headquarters in Douala, before visiting St Michael and All Angels’ Cathedral and Emmanuel Parish. 

The Archbishop will have a courtesy meeting with the Government of Cameroon in the capital Yaoundé, before concluding her visit to West Africa on Tuesday (August 4) with a farewell service at St John’s Anglican Church, Yaoundé. 

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, with people of all ages and from all backgrounds, and to worship and pray with those across the region.’