diff --git a/openssl/src/ssl/mod.rs b/openssl/src/ssl/mod.rs
index 1338b1cb81565a12acaf68568f9322967909ac69..4d7b7ab8cd7ac5c65d4fd7dec97e7eeb29255b5e 100644
--- a/openssl/src/ssl/mod.rs
+++ b/openssl/src/ssl/mod.rs
@@ -30,7 +30,9 @@ mod tests;
 
 static mut VERIFY_IDX: c_int = -1;
 
-fn init() {
+/// Manually initialize SSL.
+/// It is optional to call this function and safe to do so more than once.
+pub fn init() {
     static mut INIT: Once = ONCE_INIT;
 
     unsafe {