Second Church Estates Commissioner and Conservative MP, Dame Caroline Spelman, has welcomed the appointment of the first female Bishop of London.
This morning, (Monday) the Church of England confirmed that the Rt Rev Sarah Mullally DBE had succeeded the Rt Rev and Ron Hon Richard Chartres KVCO as the Bishop of London. She will be formally installed at a service in St Pauls Cathedral early next year.
Bishop Sarah was a senior civil servant in the Department of Health before ordination. A trained nurse, she became Chief Nursing Officer for England in 1999. She was ordained in 2001.
Bishop Sarah was made a Dame Commander of the British Empire in 2005 in recognition of her outstanding contribution to nursing and midwifery. In 2012 she was installed as Canon Treasurer at Salisbury Cathedral, before becoming Bishop of Crediton in the Diocese of Exeter in 2015, primarily serving North and East Devon. She is a member of the Church of England’s National Safeguarding Steering Group.
Rt Hon Dame Caroline Spelman MP, Second Church Estates Commissioner, commented “I congratulate Bishop Sarah on being appointed to serve our capital as the 133rd Bishop of London.
“Having demonstrated a deep commitment to public service, both as a former nurse and senior civil servant, I am certain that she will make an excellent Diocesan Bishop and serve the city and the people of London well”.