Diocese prepares to welcome new bishop
People from churches across South Wales will gather at Llandaff Cathedral on Saturday (29 April) to welcome their new bishop. The inauguration of the new bishop of Llandaff will take place at 12pm with a service of welcome led by the Archbishop of Wales Andrew John.
Bishop Mary Stallard will be inaugurated as the 73rd Bishop of Llandaff at a special Eucharist service. Bishop Mary will preach the sermon and the Dean of Llandaff Cathedral Richard Peers will install the new bishop in her seat. The congregation will include clergy, politicians and ecumenical and inter-faith partners to welcome Bishop Mary. The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Cardiff Mark O’Toole will also be present.
Let the doors be opened, that we may welcome our Bishop
The service begins at the west steps of Llandaff Cathedral where Bishop Mary will knock the West Door three times with her staff. The Dean will answer saying, “Let the doors be opened, that we may welcome our Bishop.” Wardens of the Cathedral will open the doors and the Dean will welcome the new Bishop of Llandaff with the words, “Bishop Mary, we welcome you to your Diocese and Cathedral Church in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Looking ahead to Saturday’s inauguration, Bishop Mary says, “I am honoured to have been elected as Bishop of Llandaff and I look forward to serving God and the diocese. It is a real privilege to receive this call to Llandaff and I will do my very best to live up to it faithfully.
Bishop Mary will use her sermon to call on the churches to be bold and creative in the way we talk about faith, “I am not one for shying away from the challenges facing the church today. We must be bold in our plans to grow the church. We must be creative in the way we share the gospel message of love. And we must do all of this with a prayerful heart.
“Llandaff is a wonderfully diverse diocese which has a strong reputation for speaking out on issues that matter to the people of South Wales. Whether it’s tackling the cost of living crisis, speaking out on social and global justice issues or campaigning against climate change, our churches are making a real difference to our communities. I am committed to working alongside our priests, volunteers, staff team and worshipping communities to understand how best together we can serve the diocese.
“Saturday’s service of welcome will be an important milestone in my vocation, and I am very much looking forward to meeting clergy, staff and volunteers from across our Ministry Areas.”
We must be bold in our plans to grow the church
Welcoming Bishop Mary to the diocese, Dean of Llandaff Cathedral Richard Peers, says, “It is a great joy for all of us at the Cathedral to welcome our new bishop to her diocese and cathedral. This is a place of prayer and we are grateful that Bishop Mary has a heart for prayer, formed especially by her relationship with the Taizé Community.
“We are an inclusive community, and we are grateful that Bishop Mary has a heart for inclusion. We are a community bursting to the seams with young people, and we are grateful that Bishop Mary has a heart for young people.
“We pray for Bishop Mary, for her husband Andrew and for their daughters in this new phase of their lives and we look forward to taking them to our hearts in this ministry.”
The service of welcome will be livestreamed on the Cathedral’s YouTube Channel.