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Nun gives birth to baby boy in Italy
The 31-year-old mother and her baby boy, who weighs 3.5 kilograms (7.7 pounds), are doing well and other new mothers in Rieti hospital have begun collecting clothes and donations for her, the reports said.
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Simone Petrangeli, the mayor of Rieti has asked inhabitants of the small city, which has a population of just 47,700, to respect her privacy.
"I did not know I was pregnant. I only felt a stomach pain," the nun was quoted as saying at the hospital, the Italian news agency ANSA reported.
An ultrasound scan revealed she was expecting a full-term baby, who was delivered by doctors during a natural birth on Friday.
ANSA said the nun had named her baby Francesco (Francis)-also the pope's chosen title and one of the most popular names in Italy, where St Francis of Assisi is the much-loved national patron saint. The hospital could not be reached for comment.
The nun belongs to the "Little Disciples of Jesus" convent in Campomoro near Rieti, which manages an old people's home and reports said she would keep the baby.
"The baby is one of God's creatures and we have the utmost respect for human life. Pope Francis himself has recalled, that human errors aside, the dignity of the individual must be respected," said Fabrizio Borrello, a priest. "The nun will take care of her baby," he added.
All the other nuns at the convent were also unaware of the pregnancy and were "shocked" at the birth, the priest said.
