Bishop Cherry Vann to be consecrated at Brecon ceremony

Bishop Cherry will be consecrated as the 11th bishop of Monmouth on Saturday

The Church in Wales' third female bishop will be welcomed to her new role at a special ceremony.

Bishop Cherry Vann, the former Archdeacon of Rochdale, has been elected as the new bishop of Monmouth.

The Church in Wales has six diocesan bishops and the episcopacy was opened to women in 2013.

Bishop Cherry, who lives with her civil partner Wendy, will be consecrated at Brecon Cathedral on Saturday.

"I am very much looking forward to my consecration and to responding to God's call to serve the people of Monmouth diocese as their bishop," she said.

Archbishop of Wales, John Davies, said he was "looking forward enormously" to working with her.

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"She has wide experience, great gifts and a huge amount to contribute to the life, not only to the Diocese of Monmouth, but also to the wider Church in Wales," he said.

Originally from Leicestershire, she was ordained as a deacon in 1989, later becoming one of the first women to be ordained as a priest in the Church of England in 1994.

She is also a pianist and an associate of the Royal College of Music and has been a conductor of the Bolton Chamber Orchestra for more than 20 years.

Bishop Cherry will formally be enthroned as the 11th bishop of Monmouth at Newport Cathedral on 1 February.