A married teacher has become the first woman priest to be ordained in Italy.

Maria Vittoria Longhitano, 35, who belongs to a breakaway faction of the Catholic Church, received the holy orders at an Anglican church in Rome.

She belongs to the Italian Old Catholic Church, a congregation that broke away from Roman Catholicism in the 19th Century.

While the Vatican is opposed to women priests, other Christian groups have long accepted female clergy.

Mrs Longhitano, who will now be known as Mother Longhitano, said she hoped to break down what she described as prejudice in the Roman Catholic church.

"We are talking about an extremely hierarchical system; a male caste with a strong instinct of self-preservation," she said.

To read full BBC story — Go Here Now.