A nun gave birth to a baby boy in Italy Wednesday, naming the child Francesco in an apparent tribute to Pope Francis, The Telegraph reported.
The 31-year-old nun, a member of Little Disciples of Jesus, kept her pregnancy secret and even denied the possibility as she was being rushed to a Rieti hospital for severe abdominal cramps.
“It’s not possible, I’m a nun,” she told doctors, according to Italian press.
The discovery of her pregnancy has embarrassed the Catholic Church in Italy, with the local bishop saying that she will have to leave her convent.
“It would be preferable that she now lead a secular life with her baby, away from religious institutions,” said a spokesman for Delio Lucarelli, bishop of Rieti, The Telegraph reported.
The convent’s mother superior, Sister Erminia, said: “It seems she was not able to resist temptation.”
The nun named the baby boy Francesco – apparently in tribute to Pope Francis, the report said.
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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