The Archbishop of Canterbury will lead celebrations marking the 100th anniversary of the Diocese of Portsmouth and Portsmouth Cathedral next year.

The Most Rev Sarah Mullally will join worshippers at a special service at Portsmouth Cathedral on Saturday, May 1, 2027 – exactly a century after the diocese was created.

The centenary programme will also include an outdoor service expected to attract thousands of worshippers, an exhibition featuring portraits of 100 churchgoers and events celebrating the history of the cathedral.

The Diocese of Portsmouth was created from part of the Diocese of Winchester on May 1, 1927, with St Thomas’s Church in Old Portsmouth becoming Portsmouth Cathedral.

Plans for the church to become a cathedral also helped pave the way for Portsmouth to achieve city status in 1926, meaning the city is celebrating its own centenary this year.

Today, the Diocese of Portsmouth oversees Church of England parishes and church schools across south-east Hampshire, including Petersfield, Clanfield and Horndean.

The Bishop of Portsmouth, the Rt Rev Jonathan Frost, said: “During our centenary year, we will thank God for the faithful Christians who shaped the diocese and cathedral in the past; we will celebrate how God is working across the diocese in the present; and we'll launch activities that leave a lasting legacy for the future.”

The May 1 centenary service will bring together representatives from parishes and church schools alongside civic dignitaries.

The diocese is also marking its centenary with a project documenting the people who make up its churches today.

Professional photographer Peter Langdown is taking portraits of 100 worshippers from churches across the diocese for the 100 Faces project.

Those selected include longstanding congregation members as well as people who have recently embraced the Christian faith.

Their life-size portraits will be exhibited at Portsmouth Cathedral from April 4 to 24.