Archbishop of Canterbury: It was both a 'privelege and humbling' to meet Pope Leo

Britain's Archbishop of Canterbury Sarah Mullally said it was a "privilege and humbling" meeting Pope Leo for the first time on Monday (April 27), in a symbolic encounter at the Vatican in which the leaders of the long-separated Catholic Church and Church of England exchanged gifts and prayed together.

Mullally, the first woman to serve as spiritual leader of the world's 85 million Anglicans, was welcomed by Leo, the first American leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics, into his formal office at the Vatican's ornate Apostolic Palace.

Mullally was installed as Archbishop of Canterbury in March, a historic shift that received mixed reactions from the global Anglican Communion, upsetting more conservative provinces in Africa and Asia.

She described the meeting with the pope as "one of great warmth, and great encouragement, and of hope."

"I think we both recognize that, regardless of me being a woman, this is a significant moment in that both our churches have been on a journey together to deepen our friendship," she told reporters.

The Church of England broke from the Catholic Church in 1534 after Pope Clement VII refused King Henry VIII's request for an annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon.

The two denominations were at odds for centuries but have moved closer in recent decades.

Their teachings align on many major issues, though the Catholic Church does not ordain women and generally does not allow priests to marry.

Mullally acknowledged the significance of being the first female archbishop.

"I cannot ignore the fact that my appointment as a woman has meant something to people, and that then has opened up the opportunity to be heard by them, maybe in a different way," she told reporters.

-Millie McCaughan, Paul Warren and Sophie Royle/Reuters