A shocked nun has given birth to a baby boy, and named him after Pope Francis.

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The 31-year-old nun, who comes originally from El Salvador, was rushed to hospital from her convent in the Italian city of Rieti – only to find, to her huge surprise, that her 'stomach pains' were in fact labour pains.

She gave birth to a healthy baby boy a few hours later.

"I did not know I was pregnant. I only felt a stomach pain," she said, according to a report from Ansa, a local news agency – which also described the new mum's fellow nuns at the convent as being "surprised" by the news.

The new-mum nun has named her baby Francesco (Francis) – also the chosen title of the Pope – and other mothers at the hospital have begun collecting clothes and donations for her and her child, say the Italian media.

"I guess she's telling the truth when she says she arrived at the hospital unaware of the pregnancy," local pastor Don Fabrizio Borrello is quoted as saying.

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Authors

Helen Brown
Helen BrownHead of Content Delivery

Helen is author of the classic advice book Parenting for Dummies and a mum of 3. Before joining MadeForMums, she was Head of Community at Mumsnet and also the Consumer Editor of Mother & Baby.

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