The next Bishop of Doncaster will be the Revd Leah Vasey-Saunders, Downing Street has announced today. Leah is currently the Vicar of Lancaster at Lancaster Priory, a role she has held for four years.
The role of the Bishop of Doncaster has been vacant since the Rt Revd Sophie Jelley departed earlier this year to become the Diocesan Bishop of Coventry. Leah will be the eighth Bishop of Doncaster in the Church of England.
The Bishop of Sheffield, the Rt Revd Dr Pete Wilcox, said:
“I am absolutely delighted by Leah’s appointment! I thank God for calling to our Diocese a gifted, missionary disciple of the Lord Jesus, who is passionate about the proclamation of the Gospel and about the transformation of human lives and communities, and all creation, in anticipation of the coming Kingdom of God. Leah is a born pastor, who forms partnerships easily and I know people across South Yorkshire and the East Riding (both within the Church of England and beyond it) will quickly warm to her and trust her. Personally, I am looking forward very much to her consecration as a bishop in September and to the prospect of working closely with her.
“I would like to say how grateful I am to the advisory panel (to the Revd Chris Bishop, the Revd Amy Hole, Mr Neill Birchenall, Mrs Kim Priestley, Ms Ami Kemoh) who joined me earlier this year to meet with the candidates we had invited for interview, and to the candidates themselves who took the costly step of making themselves vulnerable in engaging in this discernment process with us. Thank you, also, to those of you who took it upon yourself to be surrounding that process with your prayers — they were answered. I believe the Lord has blessed us with an inspired and inspiring appointment.”
Also speaking about the appointment is the Revd Amy Hole, member of the advisory panel that interviewed the candidates. She said:
“I’m sure I speak on behalf of all my fellow panel members in saying what a huge privilege it was to assist Bishop Pete in the interview and discernment process for the new Bishop of Doncaster. Meeting the candidates and discovering the wealth of gifts and experience they offer gave us great hope for the future of the Church. The process was rigorous and thorough but also prayerful and open to the Holy Spirit’s guidance. It was abundantly clear that Leah was the right person to be appointed for this role at this time, and I am hugely excited about her appointment. She brings a visionary commitment to mission and worship, and gifts of strategic insight and clarity of thought and expression, but is also clearly personable and full of grace. I’m looking forward to the next chapter of our life as a Diocese!”
Leah Vasey-Saunders has been the Vicar of Lancaster Priory since 2021, becoming the first woman to hold the role. Under her leadership, the church has seen growth in lay and ordained ministry. A key achievement has been chairing the “Facing the Past” project, which addressed Lancaster’s links to transatlantic slavery and culminated in a collaborative sculpture exhibition.
Before Lancaster, Leah served as Canon Precentor at Wakefield Cathedral and held parish roles in the dioceses of Southwell and Nottingham, Lichfield, and Newcastle. She was ordained in 2003 after training at Cranmer Hall, Durham.
Leah is married to Revd Dr Mark Vasey-Saunders, and they have four children. A lifelong musician, she studied music at university, where her faith journey and call to ministry began. She is also chair of On Fire Mission, promoting charismatic and Catholic renewal in the Church of England. Outside ministry, Leah enjoys singing, fibre crafts, board games, and time with her two cats.
Speaking about her appointment, Leah said:
“It is a humbling and joyful thing to be called as the next Bishop of Doncaster. I feel deeply privileged to be joining the Diocese of Sheffield and look forward to serving alongside Bishop Pete, the senior team, and colleagues across the diocese and region. I am especially grateful to be following Bishop Sophie, whose faithful and wise leadership has left a rich legacy.
“Throughout my ministry, I’ve been shaped by a love for the Church in all its beautiful diversity. I’ve walked with communities as they respond to Jesus’ call amid changing and sometimes challenging contexts. I have a particular heart for the north—its grit and grace—and for working-class, post-industrial communities where I’ve seen God’s Spirit move in powerful ways.
“I am passionate about creating space for a wider range of voices—across gender, ethnicity, age, and class—to participate fully in the life and mission of the Church. Jesus is already at work across Yorkshire and the East Riding. I come ready to listen, to learn, and to encourage God’s people as, together, we seek the kingdom in our time and place.”
The role of the Bishop of Doncaster was created in 1972 and has been occupied almost continuously since that time. The ministry of the Bishop has traditionally given honour to, and has focused the commitment of the Church on, the lives and communities of those who live in the Archdeaconry of Doncaster. It is a Suffragan role, that in simple terms, means ‘assistant’ to the diocesan bishop. While having a primary focus on Doncaster, Leah will work across the Diocese with the Bishop of Sheffield. She will also form a part of the wider bishop’s staff team and will chair the Board of Education.
On hearing the news, many of Leah’s friends and colleagues, both past and future, across the two provinces have been lining up to offer their congratulations.
The Archbishop of York, the Most Reverend & Right Honourable Stephen Cottrell, said:
“I am delighted that HM The King has appointed the Revd Leah Vasey-Saunders as the new Suffragan Bishop of Doncaster. Leah brings a wealth of pastoral experience, theological wisdom, spiritual depth, evangelistic zeal and profound faith to this role. This is a really exciting appointment. Leah has a heart for people, a passion for worship, and a vision of the Church as a place of joy, connection, and hope. With Bishop Pete she will help bring inspiring leadership to the Diocese of Sheffield.”
The Rt Revd Philip North, Bishop of Blackburn, said:
“We are thrilled by the appointment of Leah Vasey-Saunders as the Bishop of Doncaster. She is a mission-hearted, creative, imaginative priest with strategic leadership gifts and someone who delights in calling out vocations. “Her husband Mark brings a remarkable teaching and writing ability and we are pleased he can continue to flourish as Centre Head at St Hild Sheffield.
“They and the family will be a loss to us in Lancashire where Leah has served as Vicar of Lancaster and Chair of On Fire Mission. She goes with our love and prayers that her ministry will ignite many lights for Christ in Sheffield Diocese.”
The Bishop-Designate will spend her first day in the Diocese visiting St Paul’s Wheatley Park, where she will meet with local community members of the Church of England parish. Following that, Leah will visit Doncaster Minster to meet with civic and business leaders, before being introduced to members of the worshipping community there. An Ascension Day service will be led at Doncaster Minster by Fr Stephen Edmonds.
Leah will then head to St Leonard and St Jude Scawsby in Doncaster for a buffet lunch and meeting with members of the local church, followed by a visit to the Chaplaincy services at Northern General Hospital. She will close her first day in the Diocese with Evening Prayer at Sheffield Cathedral.
The Revd Leah Vasey-Saunders will be consecrated at York Minster on Tuesday 16th September at 11am, followed by Installation at Sheffield Cathedral on the afternoon of Saturday 20th, to which all are warmly invited.
Photo credit: Ginny Koppenhol