It is an odd choice for a singer who has taken a vow of chastity, but that hasn’t stopped a singing Italian nun from covering “Like a Virgin”.

Sister Cristina Scuccia, who won Italy’s version of The Voice earlier this year, has released a cover of Madonna’s Eighties classic.

But the nun claims her version has pure intentions, referring to an eternal loving force rather than focussing on sexual thrills.

“Reading the text, without being influenced by previous interpretations, you discover that it is a song about the power of love to renew people [and] rescue them from their past,” she told Catholic newspaper Avvenire.

Although the 26-year-old nun’s cover is more ballad-like than Madonna’s pop version, the video does borrow from the singer’s original.

Both videos are set in Venice, but instead of writhing about on a gondola like Madonna, Scuccia is seen walking around the city’s landmarks dressed in her habit.

Sister Cristina Scuccia sings her ballad version of 'Like a Virgin' (YouTube)

“We have transformed this song from the pop-dance piece, which it was, into a romantic ballad…something more similar to a secular prayer than to a pop song,” she said.