Attorney now US Episcopal Church’s 4th black female bishop

CORDOVA, Tenn. – A former New Orleans attorney has become the fourth black female bishop of the U.S. Episcopal Church and the first in the Episcopal Diocese of West Tennessee.

NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune reports the Rev. Phoebe Roaf was officially titled Saturday. She previously served as the rector of St. Philip’s Episcopal Church in Richmond, Virginia.

A Harvard College and Princeton University graduate, the Arkansas native pursued a career in public policy and law before attending the Virginia Theological Seminary school and graduating in 2008. The newspaper says she was the first black woman to be ordained an Episcopal priest in the Diocese of Louisiana and the first person of colour to serve at the New Orleans Trinity Episcopal Church.

Her brother, Willie, played for the New Orleans Saints and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2012.