THE woman appointed the Church of England’s first ever female bishop began her career in Blackburn.

Libby Lane will make ecclesiastical history when she is ordained.

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She served her curacy at Saint James, Shear Brow, from 1993 to 1996 where she is remembered with great affection.

The present vicar, Canon Arun John, said he and his parishioners were “rejoicing” at Mrs Lane’s appointment.

He said: “Parishioners remember Libby fondly.

“Libby was known for her sense of humour, her pastoral sensitivity and the quality of her preaching.

“We are proud of her links to St James’ and wish Libby and her husband George the best for the future.”

A relative unknown, Mrs Lane was not on the bookies’ shortlists of female priests tipped for the historic role.

But she is a very well-respected figure locally in the church.

Originally part of a committee tasked with trying to find a candidate for the bishopric, she was invited to apply for it herself when the General Synod voted last month to allow women to become bishops.

She comes from an Anglican but not particularly church-going family and says she “was loved into faith” by a small Anglican church community in rural Derbyshire.

She went on to study theology at St Peter’s College, Oxford University, where she met her husband – now the Reverend George Lane.

The pair were ordained together in July 1994, with Mrs Lane becoming one of the first female priests in the Church of England.

Over the last 20 years she has served a number of parish and chaplaincy roles in the north of England in the dioceses of Blackburn, York and Chester.

The couple have two grown-up children, Connie, 20, and Benedict, 18.

As a married couple who are both priests, Mrs Lane and her husband juggled work and childcare, prioritising their careers at different stages.

For the past eight years she has served as vicar of St Peter’s, Hale, Greater Manchester, and St Elizabeth’s, Ashley, Cheshire.

Mr Lane, now co-ordinating chaplain at Manchester Airport, said he is immensely proud of his wife.

The Church said her interests include being a school governor, encouraging social action initiatives, learning to play the saxophone, supporting Manchester United, reading and doing cryptic crosswords.