Accra, Aug. 15, GNA - Rt. Rev. Diana Afua Adjartey, Founder and General Overseer of Kingdom of God Mission International (KOGMI), has been ordained the first woman Bishop of the Church in Italy. A statement from KOGMI to the Ghana News Agency on Monday said several hundreds of Africans in northern Italy gathered in Brescia to witness the ordination.

She was elected Bishop on August 1, 2004 in Accra, and was installed in Brescia, Italy.

In her homily, Bishop Diana reached out to men to accept the calling of God on women and treat them as such since in Christ there was no male and female.

She expressed the hope that the ordination of a female Bishop would encourage other women to take the right path and bring honour to African women.

The young Diana pursued both her primary and secondary education in Ghana. Endowed with a talent for fashion and dressmaking, Diana sought to develop and enhance this talent by pursuing further formal training, earning a Diploma in 1986, after which she took up teaching appointments in some institutions to impart knowledge to young persons. In addition, Bishop Diana set up her own fashion designing and dressmaking school, Splendour Bridal Designs, where she trained both young and old ladies to acquire relevant skills.

She gave her life to Christ on 7th July 1977 and taught at the Sunday school of the Church of Pentecost. In addition, she worked alongside her mother in her women's crusades in Ghana and also assisted in the pioneering work of the Assemblies of God Church in Ho. Determined to serve the Lord more effectively, she enrolled in the Action Bible College in 1991, and three years later obtained a Certificate in Ministry Work. In 1995, she became the Resident Pastor of the evangelical-based Christ Peace and Love Church in Castiglione and Montichiari, Italy.

On August 18 2002 Bishop Diana established the Kingdom of God Mission International in Brescia. The Church currently has branches in the US, Ghana and Nigeria.

She is one of the pioneers of the charismatic movement in Italy. She has ordained many pastors, who are either working directly with her, or have their own ministries. She currently oversees 10 other ministries.

She is married to Rev. Francis Adjartey and together they have two children, Ephraim and Christiana.