21 Facts About Libby Lane

Elizabeth Jane Holden Lane was born on 8 December 1966 and is a British Anglican bishop and Lord Spiritual.

Libby Lane was the first woman to be appointed as a bishop by the Church of England, after its general synod voted in July 2014 to allow women to become bishops.

Libby Lane's consecration took place on 26 January 2015 at York Minster.

Libby Lane was born Elizabeth Jane Holden on 8 December 1966 in Wycombe Rural District, Buckinghamshire, England.

Libby Lane was educated at Manchester High School for Girls, a private girls' school.

Libby Lane graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1989; this was later promoted to a Master of Arts degree under the statutes and customs of the university.

Libby Lane was ordained in the Church of England as a deacon in 1993 and as a priest in 1994, the first year in which women were ordained as priest in the Church of England.

Libby Lane served her curacy at St James's Church, Blackburn, from 1993 to 1996.

Libby Lane served in the Diocese of Chester from 2000 to 2014 and was the vicar of the combined benefice of St Peter's Hale and St Elizabeth's Ashley from 2007.

Libby Lane was the Dean of Women in Ministry in the diocese from 2010.

In 2013, Libby Lane was elected one of eight participant observers of the House of Bishops as the observer representing the North West of England.

Libby Lane ceased to be an observer when she was elected, by and from among the suffragan bishops of the Province of York, to the House of Bishops in 2015.

On 17 December 2014, it was announced that Libby Lane was to become the Bishop of Stockport, a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Chester.

Libby Lane was consecrated at York Minster on 26 January 2015 by John Sentamu, the then Archbishop of York.

One of the first duties that Libby Lane undertook as a bishop was her involvement in the consecration service for Philip North as the Bishop of Burnley on 2 February 2015.

Libby Lane was installed at Chester Cathedral on 8 March 2015, International Women's Day, signalling the official start of her ministry as Bishop of Stockport.

On 18 December 2018, it was announced that Libby Lane was to become the eighth Bishop of Derby, succeeding Alastair Redfern; she grew up in the diocese, in Glossop.

Libby Lane was installed at Derby Cathedral on 25 May 2019.

Libby Lane was introduced as a Lord Spiritual at the House of Lords by the Archbishop of Canterbury and the former Archbishop of York on 2 July 2019.

Libby Lane is an Anglican priest and currently the co-ordinating chaplain at Manchester Airport.

Libby Lane was made an honorary fellow of St Peter's College, Oxford in June 2015.