Two Catholic nuns who took a vow of chastity are under investigations for getting pregnant.
Italian media reports that the two women, who belonged to different orders in Sicily, had both traveled to Africa.
One of the women, who is 34 years old, learned that she was expecting when she went to the hospital with stomach pain. She was transferred to a different order in Palermo and may leave monastic life to raise the child.
The other woman, who is a mother superior, left for her home country of Madagascar after she was determined to be one-month pregnant, the Italian outlet reported. Her age was not released.
“An investigation has been launched. They both breached strict rules of chastity but the welfare of their children is uppermost,” a church source said.
Nuns and priests must take a vow of chastity to become ordained, meaning they are not allowed to have sex. They also profess the perpetual ‘solemn vows’ to live a life according to the evangelical counsels of poverty and obedience.
According to reports, in 2014, the Catholic Church handled a near similar case in Italy.
A nun who gave birth to a baby boy said she had no idea she was pregnant.
She was rushed to hospital with abdominal pains, which she thought were stomach cramps.
The 31-year-old named her newborn Francis after the current Pope.