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SAN DIEGO — The Episcopal Diocese of San Diego welcomed its first female bishop on Thursday.

Mayor Kevin Faulconer and other interfaith leaders led a ceremony at St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral to congratulate Rev. Canon Susan Brown Snook on her new role.

“It gives you a lot of hope,” one church member told FOX 5.

Clergy members and congregants elected Snook in February. She will be ordained on Saturday and will oversee 15,000 church members at 43 congregations.

“Women are 50 percent or more of the population and I believe it’s really important for the leadership of the church and of society to reflect the world around us,” Snook told FOX 5. “We need to honor the diversity of our world. And we need to call forward the gifts and talents of every person.”

Women make up 13 percent of bishops at episcopal dioceses nationwide, but many are beginning to add women to leadership roles, according to Snook.

“The first woman priest I ever saw was such an inspiration to me because I didn’t know that women could do that,” Snook said. “It made a difference for me to understand that women could be leaders everywhere in all parts of society, including the church.”

Her ordination ceremony is scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 15 at St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral.