In “oops” news, a nun who didn’t know she was pregnant gave birth to a nine pound baby boy Wednesday, in the small, central Italian city of Rieti.
The 31-year-old nun, originally from El Salvador, said she started having stomach pains Wednesday morning and called an ambulance. A few hours later she was in a hospital recovering from labor.
“I did not know I was pregnant,” she stated. “I only felt a stomach pain.”
The new mother named the baby Francesco, or Francis, which is the pope’s title and one of the most popular names in Italy. The moniker is also likely in honor of St. Francis of Assisi, the country’s national patron saint.
Those in the hospital began to take a collection of items for the nun and her son, including clothes and other donations.
Many took to Twitter to voice their opinions about the news:
NUN from San Salvador gives BIRTH to a son in a hospital in Rieti,Italy. WHAT THE?! Where is this world going to? #confusion #disappointment
— Marilena (@b_marilena) January 17, 2014
Catholic nun gives birth, erm, unexpectedly. Local priest "She will undertake all her motherly duties". And Daddy? http://t.co/FtdyhXwGaQ
— Pillar of Stef (@Real_StefP) January 17, 2014
Rieti Horror Story: The Pregnant Nun.
— Taco Zoid (@TacoZoid1988) January 17, 2014
The nun belongs to the “Little Disciples of Jesus” convent, which takes care of a home for the elderly. Her fellow nuns were “surprised” to hear of the news she had given birth.
Simone Petrangeli, the mayor of Rieti, has asked the public and the media to respect the nun’s privacy. Rieti, a small town of only about 47,700, has gained international attention with the news of the nun’s new baby.
Local pastor Don Fabrizio Borrello stated that the nun plans on keeping and caring for the baby.
Image via Wikimedia Commons
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