Cherry Vann makes history by becoming first female – and first LGBTQ – Archbishop of Wales
Cherry Vann has been elected as the first-ever female and openly lesbian Archbishop of Wales. (The Church in Wales/Facebook)
Cherry Vann has been elected as the first-ever female and openly lesbian Archbishop of Wales. (The Church in Wales/Facebook)
The Bishop of Monmouth, Cherry Vann, has been elected as the first-ever female and openly lesbian Archbishop of Wales.
On Wednesday (30 July) Cherry Vann, who has served as the Bishop of Monmouth for five years, was named as the 15th Archbishop of Wales.
The milestone appointment sees her become the first female, and lesbian, leader of the Church in Wales, replacing Andrew John who stood down following two summary reports highlighting safeguarding concerns and misbehaviour at Bangor Cathedral, as reported by the BBC.
John confirmed he would be retiring as Bishop of Bangor on 31 August. Church Times notes that the two reports had recorded concerns about “weak financial controls” and “inappropriate behaviours”. There has been no suggestion that John himself behaved inappropriately. The full reports have not yet been published.
Cherry Vann aims to bring ‘healing and reconciliation’
Archbishop Vann, originally from Leicester, said of her appointment: “The first thing I shall need to do is to ensure that the issues which have been raised in the last six months are properly addressed and that I work to bring healing and reconciliation, and to build a really good level of trust across the Church and the communities the Church serves.”
The Dean of Newport, the Very Revd Ian Black, said that Vann’s appointment has “brought stability to the diocese of Monmouth, managing the change to ministry areas with clarity and purpose, showing deep care for the clergy and people. This foundation will be a good base as she leads the Province over the next few years.”
Black added: “She has a deep faith, which is also open to those who take a different view to her, and this has impressed those people enormously.”
Before she was elected as the Bishop of Monmouth in September 2019, Cherry Vann served as Archdeacon of Rochdale, in the Diocese of Manchester, for 11 years.
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