London, England - The Church of England has appointed a South African-born cleric as the new dean of the northern English city of Manchester, making him the first black cathedral dean in England.
The Reverend Rogers Govender, 45, was born in KwaZulu-Natal in Durban in KwaZulu-Natal, and served as a parish priest in Natal for 15 years before moving to Manchester in 2000.
A dean is the second-ranking cleric in a diocese, after the bishop, and runs the day-to-day affairs of the cathedral.
Govender, who has a wife and two teenage children, said he wanted to make the cathedral "a hospitable place, for people of all faiths or no faith, different theologies and different political and other convictions.
"The Christian faith transforms people, and I'd like to see the cathedral being a place that encourages and empowers robust faith, relevant to the needs of the 21st century in a multi-ethnic society," he said.
Govender, a fan of Manchester United Football Club, with a love of rock music, takes over from The Very Reverend Ken Riley, who retired earlier this year after 12 years in the post.
Last week, the first black archbishop in the long history of the Church of England, Ugandan-born John Sentamu, formally took up his post.
Sentamu, 56, a leading activist on racism and inner-city crime, was named in June to take over as Archbishop of York, the Church's second-most important position.
The Church of England is part of the Anglican Communion, which has a worldwide following of around 70 million people.