Britain's stained glass ceiling was broken by 48-year-old Libby Lane on Wednesday when she was appointed as the first female bishop of the Church of England. Her official title is Bishop of Stockport.

Lane, one of the eight women observers of the church's House of Bishops, will be consecrated at a ceremony in York on January 26, 2015, according to Downing Street, Oxford Times reports.

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British Prime Minister David Cameron, who made the announcement, congratulated the married assistant bishop with two children, saying it was "an historic appointment and important day for equality."

Cameron said that the government would forward a bill this week to permit Lane and future women bishops to sit in the British Parliament's House of Lords.

She is married to the chaplain at Manchester Airport, the Rev. George Lane.

In her acceptance speech, Lane said, quoted by the New York Daily News, "I am conscious this morning of countless men and women, who for decades have looked forward to the time when the Church of England would announce its first woman bishop."

Canterbury Archbishop Justin Welby said she is a wonderful choice, while Rev. Colin Fletcher, the acting Bishop of Oxford, said Lane's promotion brings much joy to the diocese of Stockport and throughout the Church of England.

It took the church 22 years to appoint a female bishop from the time it allowed women to become priest in 1992 and appointed them in 1994. Female priests now compose one-third of the Church of England clergy.

Lane's appointment as bishop was made possible after its mother church, the Anglican Communion, gave the go signal in November. The Communion has about 85 million members spread in 165 nations, reports SBS.

Tagslibby lane, bishop of stockport, Church of England