Vatican leader Pope Francis was reportedly saddened by news of two former Roman Catholic nuns who married each other, calling their love a "gift of God."
"What sadness on the face of the pope when I read him the news of the two 'nun' brides," reads an English translation of a Tweet sent out by Vatican Undersecretary of State, Archbishop Angelo Becciu, according to Breitbart News.
The brides in question were only identified by the names Federica and Isabel in a report by the Italian daily La Repubblica, in which they also characterize their love as a "gift of God" that "no one can prevent."
The former nuns, who are both in their 40s, tied the knot in a civil union in Turin at the end of September. Reports added that the nuns met during a missionary trip to Guinea Bissau, and were seemingly encouraged to move forward in their relationship by the words of Francis himself, who once said "Who am I to judge?" about a gay person who wants to be a Catholic.
The former nuns added that they wanted to "leave the religious life and begin a path of freedom and faith lived with serenity, without scandal, beneath the merciful gaze of God."
Francis has remained a firm supporter of the traditional definition of marriage between one man and one woman, however, and back in January sought to clarify what he really meant in his 2013 remarks when he said "Who am I to judge?" about gay people.
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