ROME (AP) — A Sudanese woman who was sentenced to death in Sudan for refusing to recant her Christian faith has arrived in Italy along with her family, including an infant born in prison.

Italy's premier welcomed Meriam Ibrahim at Rome's Ciampino airport on Thursday, calling it "a day of celebration."

Ibrahim, whose father was Muslim but whose mother was an Orthodox Christian from Ethiopia, was accompanied by her husband, who is a citizen of both the United States and South Sudan, her 18-month-old son and an infant born May 27. The family is to spend a few days in Rome before heading to the United States.

An Italian diplomat who accompanied the family from Sudan said Italy leveraged its historic ties within the Horn of Africa region to help win her release.