Pope to marry couples 'living in sin'

VATICAN CITY, Sept. 12 (UPI) -- Pope Francis will marry 20 cohabiting couples, including brides with children born out of wedlock, in a ceremony Sunday.

The event in the Vatican's St. Peter's Church is symbolic of the pope's interest in demonstrating inclusiveness and compassion in the Catholic Church, the diocese said in a statement.

In the case of one couple, a woman with an adult daughter from a previous relationship will marry a man whose prior marriage was annulled.

The woman, identified as Gabriella by the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, said, ""We didn't feel worthy or able to meet the requirements of a good Catholic couple, but the Church under the leadership of Pope Francis has welcomed and embraced us. This Pope is marvelous. He is renewing the Church. Not even non-believers can remain indifferent to his drive and his disarming simplicity."

A mass wedding at St. Peter's Church is a rare occurrence. Most recently, Pope John Paul II married eight couples in a ceremony in 2000.