DEVON’S first woman bishop was consecrated on Wednesday in Canterbury Cathedral by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby.

It was announced in June that Dame Sarah Mullally, a former nurse, would be the next Bishop of Crediton.

She was the fourth woman to be appointed a bishop in the Church of England and was consecrated on Wednesday alongside the next Bishop of Gloucester, Rachel Treweek.

Dame Sarah had a distinguished service in the NHS before ordination, culminating in her appointment as the government’s Chief Nursing Officer for England in 1999, when she was the youngest person to be appointed to the post.

She was ordained in 2001 and served her curacy in St Saviour’s Battersea Fields, initially as a self-supporting minister.

She left her post as Chief Nursing Officer in 2004 to take up full time ministry becoming a Team Rector in Sutton, Surrey in 2006. In 2012 she was installed as Canon Treasurer at Salisbury Cathedral.

She was made a Dame Commander of the British Empire in 2005 in recognition of her outstanding contribution to nursing and midwifery.

Dame Sarah said she was delighted and humbled by her appointment.

The Bishop of Exeter, the Rt Revd Robert Atwell, said he was thrilled to welcome Sarah to Devon.

He said: “Sarah will enrich the life of the church in Devon enormously. It is wonderful to be with her as she is a consecrated as bishop in Canterbury.”

A special welcome service for Bishop Sarah will be held in Exeter Cathedral on September 12, to which everyone is invited.

She will begin her ministry the next day, as she attends the ordination service where Bishop Robert will ordain 16 people to serve as new clergy across the diocese.

As Bishop of Crediton, she will primarily look after east and north Devon, though in common with the Bishop of Plymouth, she will minister across the whole diocese.