The 77-year-old baptised 32 babies on Sunday, calling the children ‘the most beautiful choir of all’.
Speaking only briefly at the annual ceremony in Rome, Italy, the pope added: ‘Some will cry because they are not comfortable or because they are hungry.’
He then encouraged mothers not to be shy about breastfeeding in public, specifically in the famous Sistine Chapel, explaining:
'Feed them, without thinking twice. Because they are the most important people here.’
‘If they are hungry, mothers, feed them, without thinking twice. Because they are the most important people here.’
Breastfeeding in public is rare in Italy and almost unheard of during Catholic church services.
And in another apparent first for the Vatican, the pope baptised the child of parents who married at a civil service, meaning their marriage is technically not recognised by the Catholic Church.
But the pope has said several times since his election that the Church must not make children of couples in irregular situations feel second-class, and he agreed to baptise baby Giulia.
Seven-month old Giulia Scardia’s mother Nicoletta said: ‘We decided to get married very quickly.
‘We were in a hurry and there was no time to organise a church ceremony. Maybe we will do it sometime’