In line with Pope Francis’ bid to encourage priests to baptize the children of unmarried women in order to pass on the Christian faith, he has today baptized the child of an unmarried couple during a ceremony in the Sistine Chapel, in Rome.

The pope has in the past said, priests who failed to baptize the children of unmarried couples are ‘hypocrites’ and his action to shows that, time has come for us to look beyond certain things.

In September the pontiff telephoned an Italian woman, Anna Romano, 35, to tell her he would personally baptise her child after she became pregnant by a man who was already married.

Pope Francis is winning the hearts of many with his extensive open mindedness.