in the classroom to see who had the most babies. Each pagan baby cost five dollars. Just saw this very entertaining thread. The rice they used was really good which I think defeated the purpose since a lot of kids looked forward to it, myself included. At every Catholic school in those days were You stir up a lot of old memories for me , too . I remember the rice bowls but no actual rice. Through Baptism we are freed from sin and reborn as sons of God; we become A friend of mine, from back in the 80s, played guitar in a band with that name (weird thing about that is, hes Jewish). Many of those kids still have their adoption certificate, like Bob We were sitting on the floor anyway, but soon we were all (the Catholics) rolling on the floor laughing our heads off! Sometimes the girls in one class would be pitted against the boys : Who could collect the money to name the pagan baby first ? I still have the ransom certificate to prove it. Found this page while looking for something completely different, the unexpected joys of broken algorithmic search engines. - Mary Ellen M. And finally they finished . We sold The Tidings , which was the L.A. Archdiocese newspaper , and there were prizes . The principal was standing nearby wondering if he should intervene . 1961 66. we collected for pagan babies, but we never got to name them, and there was no box that folded out. OK, fair enough, it was about charity for this or that African country, but it so much stank of colonialism. Im 50, and though Ive heard the term pagan babies (mainly in books by people a little older than me) , it wasnt used when I was in Catholic school from about 1969-77. Thanks for the comment ! I remember my Grandparents joking about it in the '70s. I keep asking her where MY money was! Ive been fortunate to travel to various parts of the world and to admire (our missionaries) extraordinary love of the world and of the people with whom they live, the cardinal added. If you know tell me . It was called Adopt-A-Pagan-Baby. Dan, Loved your post on the Pagan Babies! Charlie stood up to his full height of about four foot three , his head held high , a serious look on his face . As a first grade student at St.Aloysius in Wilkes-Barre, PA circa 1969, pagan babies were part of our extreme Catholic instruction. It cost $5.00. My friend Sue, a Lutheran by way of Methodism cant get head around buying pagan babies. Other notable guests included Cardinal Sean P. OMalley of Boston; Bishop Bejoy N. DCruze of Sylhet, Bangladesh; actor Andy Garcia, who stars in the upcoming film For Greater Glory; and Noel Campbell, who rode Amtrak for three days from the Coeur DAlene Indian Reservation in northwest Idaho to attend the event. Come back 60 years ago and well ask the teacher for one ; but now , I dont know . It seemed like an honorable thing, he said. Every month after the money was collected, a students name was randomlypicked out of a bag with the chosen name becoming the Pagan Baby of the Month. Certificates were horizontally displayed above the green & yellow cursive writing examples atop the blackborads. I dont remember what exactly the certificates were certifying Im assuming that little Christine Marie had been duly baptized but I know when we were younger we were told that we were buying the pagan babies. Boy , does all of that ring true to me ! "I loved Pagan Babies. Other Brookliners Remember Adopting For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ (Gal 3:27). Went to Holy Name Grade School and when my friend was writing a book including some Catholic characters ( she is not Catholic), my fellow Holy Name and I gave her the pagan baby story to include, complete with only the rich kids got to name the baby since the rest of us did not have the means to save $5. What readers of her book talked about the most was either Is there really such a thing a pagan babies thats hilarious or Oh yes, I remember saving up during Lent to get to name a pagan baby. Thanks for the memories. Labeling any baby pagan, much less sweeping into this category all foreign children of color, makes me look back with embarrassment. He chose Herman . . Never knew it meant Justice under God though . NEW YORK - They were called "pagan babies," an appellation that would never be used today. we got prizes if we gave X amount, but I never got a prize. Pagan baby naming makes good memories but was , I guess , conditioning in deception . Someone must have Plot summary. MISSION CALLArchbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, apostolic nuncio to the United States, right, was among the notable guests at the first World Mission Dinner. Consider these suggestions for renewing your life in Christ this season. ), and its name was even weirder - it was collect money to feed the Black babies. Saving pagan babies occurred during a simpler time, before cynicism and political correctness found their stride. She went to Catholic school too, and I dont know if they had pagan babies then, but I bet they did. Imagine what they would cost now." St. Paul noted that baptism replaces circumcision and circumcision was for infants. No one was, in fact, adopted or bought. Christians have always believed that baptism Seen the movie Mea Culpa? Gina and her husband raised their two children in New Jersey and now live in Manhattan. I think that the white kid had flowers in his hand and maybe a halo on his head. Thanks for the comment . Marymount ? - Donna B. - Bill R. Theres the priority. Oh . I well remember my days as a grade schooler at St. Helenas School in Philly. This is a serious problem. I think there was some small prize involved for any student that sold them. Copyright 2023 EWTN News, Inc. All rights reserved. Gina Cascone grew up in central New Jersey and is the author of Pagan Babies, Mother's Little Helper, and coauthor of twenty-six books for children. Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, retired Archbishop of Washington; best-selling author Mary Higgins Clark; and television commentator Larry Kudlow were each named 2012 Pontifical Ambassadors for Mission. Because we purchased Pagan Babies for five dollars a head, on a regular basis. When I was young, in South Philadelphia, I have memories of collecting for Trees for Israel and the Allied Jewish Appeal. I went to Marymount Jr. School (on Sunset) and we were all sent home to canvas the neighborhood in Brentwood for heavens sake, to sell pagan babies! One guy talked about confession when he was in third grade. Renew or manage your subscription here. Except in the case of fourth grade, 1964, just after the Beatles hit America on Sullivan. Cary Cox stole a five dollar bill from his mothers purse when we were in fourth grade so that Cary could pick the name of the next pagan baby himself . In accepting his medallion, Cardinal McCarrick summed up the missionary spirit. My romantic notions of missionary work got a dose of reality that summer. We were wondering how much trouble Cary would get into . It was pretty obvious he was showing off his flawless French accent. Each was presented with a medallion featuring a representation of the Papal Keys. I do not remember the term pagan babies at all, although I remember the little paper boxes quite well. Anyway , we never got pictures of our pagan babies . members of Christ, are incorporated into the Church and made sharers in her mission Same thing, just a more PC name. For whatever reason, we googled pagan baby today.My husband and I thought we were the only two people who remembered pagan babies!!!! every cent counts and just know the things we take for granted and have, these amazing . Might make a nice story . What do we do , Sister , what do we do ? And then the certificate was put up above the chalkboard. I suspect that Patricia never named them after you , David . When we got five dollars the children would pick a name for the pagan baby, send the five dollars to the priest at the mission who would snatch the baby from an eternity of suffering and baptize it with the name we sent along. Wow. We had Dominican Nuns. Catholic Register, more than one-third of millennials now say they are unaffiliated The oldest nun asked : Any questions , children ? Jump forward to 1980 . It is a few years after the genocide of the Tutsis by the Hutus.. Father Terry lives in Rwanda with his girlfriend Chantelle. More than one-third of millennials now say they are unaffiliated with any faith. Or for the poor, underprivileged kids in the USA? Two stories I recall from those days: one boy in my room kept bringing in UNBELIEVABLY large amounts every day (.75 here, $1.16 there). Each classroom was given small cardboard collection boxes . Some Irish nuns were there one day to speak to the students . - Sharon S. As a young girl at St. Albert the Great School in Dearborn, Michigan, we wore blue uniform jumpers and beanies. Through Baptism we are freed from sin and reborn as sons of God; we become members of Christ, are incorporated into the Church and made sharers in her mission ( CCC 1213), Scripture stresses the importance of this sacrament. SubscribeStart your Register subscription today. I ALSOvividly remember, that the certficates were five dollars each (pretty steep for thr 60s! - Vera Marie C. This is my question , said little Charlie Bloomquist to the salesman , If I wanted that bike , why wouldnt I go get a job and save my money until I could buy a bike . He could go home , buy his kids new bikes if he wanted to , and come back at the end of two weeks to collect the cash . It was called Adopt-A-Pagan-Baby. We gave our allowances to save those babies. Im thinking, maybe, that I qualify as a pagan baby. "I think they cost five dollars." kids were allowed to give their baby a Christian name. MJ, yes, the price was $5.00 and the money was kept in a cigar box, of all things! "We thought that some nun in China would go out and select a baby of the proper gender, In fourth grade I was finally old enough to see the movies they showedwith shots of real lepers and starving children. In the book, Pope Francis also addresses corruption at the Vatican, abuses committed by members of the Church, the COVID-19 pandemic, Russias invasion of Ukraine, among other topics. "I remember donations that were not enough to "buy" a whole baby we're combined and the Pagan babies are certainly a uniquely Catholic childhood memory! The missionary spirit was evident as Pontifical Mission Societies honored three people at the gala. In college, I was given the opportunity to work for a month at a Franciscan mission in Mexico. My grandmother gave me $5 to buy my - Kathy F. Actually , as I remember , the girls in the class were very worried about this but we boys werent so much concerned with the little pagan familys problem . James Dingwall picked that name and the girls immediately protested! pagan babies When I attended Corpus Christi Catholic School in the 1950s and 1960s there was a program we all called Pagan Babies . A recent Pew Research Center study revealed that much of Christianity is significantly. , Those madcap Catholics. Catholic mom and grandparents here. I still suspect the money collected ( probably in actuality just chicken-feed ? ) or school. I might have gone into the public school with this Catholic bubble around me and I might have been hesitant to burst the Catholic bubble of protection. Learn how your comment data is processed. We all knew what a pagan baby was a baby that was not baptized a Catholic, and not one in the US babies from Asia in particular. Read an Excerpt. I went to Christ the King in Pleasant Hill, CA. babies. Coins. Oh my, what a great story. Then I developed dysentery, and the very people I was there to save were taking care of me. I remember a little plastic Jesus and pencil cases . We didnt get a chance to vote on a name because he could name him himself. UNICEF is the United Nations Childrens Fund. One guys said one time he was examining his conscience and realized he had tried to act like an adult, so he confessed to his priest that he committed adultery!!! I knew immediately what you were referring to even though we never went to church & I went to public school. Blessing By Iron. Right, but there must be some type of guidelines that must be met for that to happen. Oh, my, what memories! Seems like the boxes looked like animal crackers boxes . In accepting his medallion, Cardinal McCarrick summed up the missionary spirit. In Scotland, around 1966 or so, there was something similar in primary school (which one attends from age approx 5 to approx 12, and this school was not R.C. Not many hands went up. A bulletin board held the certificates, pinned to the wall. I guess our efforts got similarly fierce , but I never got sucked into that . "I remember those." Watch for these changes, Eight more pro-life activists for FACE Act violations. Cant remember anything else about them except I would ask my parents, grandparents and neighbors to buy them. It used to be a full acronym - United Nations International Childrens Emergency Fund. These babies, we were told, didnt know God. This brings back a memory now. Pagan Babies book. Thanks for the memories of the JMJ on top of the paper yes right in the middle. A lot of your story is fiction. Enjoyed reading all of your comments about Pagan Babies. Keep writingthis is good stuff! The novel begins in Rwanda.The protagonist is a priest named Terry Dunn. Arlington Catholic Herald200 N. Glebe Rd.Suite 615Arlington, VA 22203703-841-2590800-377-0511, Website Design and Development by New Target, Funeral and public viewing set for murdered Bishop David OConnell, Catholics, are you going to confession? 1961 66. we collected for pagan babies, we never got pictures of our pagan babies more name... I never got a prize similarly fierce, but I bet they did but,! On the pagan babies Dingwall picked that name and the girls immediately protested but now, I memories. Called & quot ; an appellation that would never be used today no box that out! Box pennies for pagan babies folded out most babies of me we didnt get a chance to vote a... 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