Baby Boy Found at Cathedral

Maintenance worker Leonhardt and Rev. Ubel. Photo Credit to Star Tribune.

On Wednesday, January 4th, a baby boy was found abandoned at the St. Paul Cathedral. Maintenance worker Nathan Leonhardt found him after Wednesday’s evening Mass. The boy was taken to the head priest, Rev. John Ubel, and was baptized and named Nathan John, after Nathan Leonhardt, who found him, and Reverend John Ubel, who baptized him.
The baby was handed over to Ramsey County Child Protection. John Siqveland, from Ramsey County Child Protection, says “The newborn is currently safe and being cared for.”
 Siqveland further states, “Potential adoptive parents do not need to live in Ramsey County. We do not have a good way to provide an estimate for the number of families who may potentially adopt because there are private and public agencies who adopt in Ramsey County, in addition to foster care and emergency shelters. Our staff at Ramsey County finalized 88 adoptions in 2016.”
As of now, information regarding if he has been adopted or not is confidential.
Mrs. Farnam, a PA parent, was interested in adopting the baby. “My heart strings were pulled when I heard the story of Baby Nathan. All I could think about was his mom and/or dad who made the ultimate sacrifice for their child, and leaving him at the steps of the cathedral was a clear sign to me that God had a plan for this baby to be raised Catholic. I immediately called Father Ubel at the Cathedral.” She continued, saying, “The information I got was that the case was being handled by the Ramsey County Child Protective Services. Over several weeks I got my questions answered and with further correspondence with Father Ubel, was comforted in knowing that Baby Nathan would go to a loving Catholic family even if it wasn’t ours. I continue to pray for him and his biological parents as well as the family he will be joining in the future whom ever that may be!”
When he gets adopted, Nathan John will  grow up in a loving and supportive family. Many PA students can also say they have a loving and supportive family thanks to adoption, including Senior Alana Sivo.
“I consider adoption to be a good thing. My adoption put me into the best family I could ask for, and now I have a lot of opportunities. I have also enriched their lives, and in my case specifically, I have added another culture into their lives, so for me my adoption was a blessing that put me in a better family,” says Sivo.
Like Alana Sivo, the baby boy Nathan John was not going to have a home, but now he will find a family through the miracle of adoption.

http://www.startribune.com/newborn-boy-left-in-laundry-basket-at-st-paul-cathedral/409784895/

 

 

 

2 Replies to “Baby Boy Found at Cathedral”

  1. Good article which highlights adoption and respects Catholic teaching. Any chance for an updated article that discusses what’s happened since then?

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