Photo of teenager praying for homeless man goes viral

A photo of a teenage boy who prayed for a sleeping homeless man on the street has gone viral.

Police officer Eric Gaines posted a photo on Facebook of a Baltimore teenager, who stopped to pray for a homeless man, which has gone viralEric Gaines/Facebook

A Baltimore police officer, Eric Gaines, shared the photo on Facebook when he noticed the boy praying on the pavement. In a caption, Gained wrote: "I watched as this young kid was walking pass, stopped and walked over to this sleeping homeless man; touched him and began praying over him... This was an amazing sight! I pray this kid becomes a leader amongst his peers, and continues on this path!! Not all Baltimore youth are lost!! I HAD to post this!!"

A week later, the post has gone viral, with over 35,000 shares.

"He walked over to him and just knelt down and put his hands down on his foot," Gaines told the Baltimore Sun, describing the event.

"I thought it was an amazing sight. I had to take a picture of it. It was extremely powerful."

The boy had been waiting for the bus, and if it hadn't been for his friends holding it up, he would have missed it because he stopped to pray. Despite the post going viral, his identity remains unknown. 

"He didn't do it for any accolades or any praise... I didn't get a chance to say anything. I wanted to say something to him," Gaines said. "But it was just as if he did what he had to do and left."