The Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, rector of St. John's Episcopal Church in Minneapolis, has been elected bishop of the Diocese of Washington — becoming the first woman to serve as the primary bishop of the diocese, church officials say.

Budde, 52, was elected out of a field of five nominees. The election was held Saturday during a special convention at Washington National Cathedral.

Budde is set to succeed Bishop John Bryson Chane, who will retire this fall. The service of consecration and installation for the new bishop is slated for Nov. 12.

Budde, who has been St. John's rector since 1993, speaks fluent Spanish and has a long history of working among Spanish-speaking people, The Washington Post reports. She is also the author of the 2009 book "Gathering Up the Fragments: Preaching as Spiritual Practice."

The other nominees were the Rev. Ronald Abrams of St. James' in Wilmington, N.C.; the Very Rev. Samuel Glenn Candler of the Cathedral of St. Philip in Atlanta; the Rev. Jane Gould of St. Stephen's in Lynn, Mass.; and the Rev. Canon John T.W. Harmon of Trinity in the District.