Am I right in thinking this is Latin - I'd have thought it was a bit late for that - maybe an old-fashioned cleric?
Latin was the language of the Catholic church until the last third of 20th century. Baptisms and church marriage registers for my family in first half of 20th century were in Latin.
A single mother would be required to go to confession before being churched. Churching was a thanksgiving ceremony for surviving the danger of childbirth, a welcome back to the church community and to society after the confinement of pregnancy and childbirth, and a blessing.
If the identity of the father of an illegitimate child was known and if he was a member of the church, a priest might speak to him about his duty to the child and mother.
As it was fornication and not adultery, the father of the baby was free to marry the mother. If he was still around and a member of the flock, he might be persuaded to "do the right thing" and marry.