The Diocese of St Davids

New Archbishop of Wales elected

Cherry Vann, Bishop of Monmouth, is to be the new Archbishop of Wales

She succeeds Bishop Andrew John, who retired in July after three and a half years as the leader of the Church in Wales, and is the 15th to hold the post.

Archbishop Cherry was elected having secured a two-thirds majority vote from members of the Electoral College on the second day of its meeting in Chepstow.

Originally from Leicestershire, Archbishop Cherry was consecrated as Bishop of Monmouth in 2020. Previously, she served as Archdeacon of Rochdale, in the Diocese of Manchester, for 11 years.

She said, “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 Bishop of St Davids, Dorrien Davies, has issued a personal message of congratulation to the new Archbishop:

"My personal congratulations are extended to The Most Reverend Cherry Vann, Bishop of Monmouth on her appointment as Archbishop of Wales. The dedication, skills and experience Archbishop Cherry has will enable the Church in Wales to enter a new era. The archbishop will tackle the challenges that lie ahead with faith, kindness and compassion. Archbishop Cherry has my full personal support as she endeavours to achieve the goals and aims of the Church in Wales. Archbishop Cherry has a heart for the people of Wales and will do all that she can to uphold the language, values, culture and character of the Welsh nation. I very much look forward to working with the archbishop to bring peace, faith and unity."

2025: The Year of Children Youth & Families

The diocesan Year of Children, Youth & Families started on Advent Sunday 2024 and runs through to Advent 2025.

A varied series of events is being held throughout the year which can help LMAs engage with children, youth and families across the diocese, resources and support to help you with your own children, youth and families work and regular updates via social media platforms, through Pobl Dewi, the diocesan website and the Children, Youth and Families website and newsletter.

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Pruning for Growth

Pruning for Growth is a new diocesan strategy which, over the next two years, will seek to make a comprehensive, in-depth analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of every church in the Diocese of St Davids.

The strategy was unveiled at an Extraordinary Diocesan Conference held on Saturday July 6th.

The strategy consists of three phases. The first, now complete, was a fact-finding exercise to establish an up-to-date snapshot of each church, based on an eight-point matrix that will identify churches that are flourishing, growing, declining or dying.

Phase Two is under way, digging deeper into the data gathered from Phase One in an attempt to bring some context within each church.

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