Pope Francis OKs breastfeeding at the Sistine Chapel

VATICAN CITY, Jan. 13 (UPI) -- Pope Francis weighed in on the public breastfeeding debate on Sunday, telling mothers during a ceremony at the Sistine Chapel that they should feel free to breastfeed their babies.

"You mothers give your children milk and even now, if they cry because they are hungry, breastfeed them, don't worry," the pontiff said during a baptism for 33 infants.

He also said a prayer for mothers unable to breastfeed.

"We thank the Lord for the women with milk and we pray for those who are not able to breastfeed their babies. We pray for them and try to help them," he said.

Pope Francis has developed a reputation for his informal take on the papacy since he was elected in 2013.

That year, he told Vatican Insider in an interview that he once met a woman who was too "shy" to breastfeed in public.

"'Please give it something to eat!' I said," the pope recalled.