In order to raise money for the missions, the grade school students were asked to bring in pennies and nickels to save a Pagan Baby. I had my little yellow UNICEF box, and they asked if it was for the Pagan Babies. I dont remember collecting money for them. This is hilarious, love this! Their adopted Pagan Babies were then given the Sacrament of Baptism. Oh . NFL NBA Megan Anderson Atlanta Hawks Los Angeles Lakers Boston Celtics Arsenal F.C. I remember Green Stamps . But I dont remember her name." Dan, Loved your post on the Pagan Babies! I dont believe that UNICEF worries about saving souls. More and more babies are not getting baptized or raised in the faith. Hello Mike. Thanks for the comment . Pagan Babies book. Enjoyed reading all of your comments about Pagan Babies. ETA, not such a dimly remembered memoir after all; google remembered it for me. 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. The class received a certificate for each child they named. between boys and girls. Of course, the prizes helped. They were called "pagan babies," certainly not the most sensitive appellation and one that would never be used today. There is in the heart of every priest, and I hope in the heart of every Christian, the longing to be a missionary, to be a proclaimer of the Good News to the ends of the earth, he said. It didnt glow , but she was in a sort of a case shaped like a bullet with two doors that could close her in . Each was presented with a medallion featuring a representation of the Papal Keys. Check out our pagan babies selection for the very best in unique or custom, handmade pieces from our shops. She thought that it would be the greatest thing in the world for me to become a nun. At every Catholic school in those days were 4. muddymoose 4 mo. Adopt A Pagan Baby - 1959. Maybe they had sales during the year at times. In our class it was the boys vs the girls. So how many pagan babies did you sell in Brentwood ? My mother thought that those nuns were as close to God as we would ever get on earth. Design by. Any questions ? This is a serious problem. Already he was losing his enthusiasm . Here is sister Mary So-and-So in the plane about to fly off to baptize the pagans . 1961 66. we collected for pagan babies, but we never got to name them, and there was no box that folded out. Not a word of a lie, early 70s, my sister had just gotten her photo of her wee black baby and was in my grannys house showing her it, one of my uncles looks at it, laughs, disappears upstairs and about half an hour later comes down with his scraps box, complete with several pictures of his black babies as collected when he was at school in the 50s, and there, in his pile, was the same baby (albeit in higher quality and printed on better paper). And my mother prayed. Saving Pagan Babies occurred during a simpler I smell the mendacity in this room ! OK, fair enough, it was about charity for this or that African country, but it so much stank of colonialism. The students would sell candy bars for a dollar each and , depending on how many each child sold , he or she would win prizes . He chose Herman . Kids', toddler, & baby clothes with Pennies For designs sold by independent artists. . "I remember those." But how ? When I was in grade school prior to ~1961 in Catholic school, we collected money (our little pittances of coins) for some vague, needy group covered by the catch-all term pagan babies.* Were collecting money for the pagan babies?* As I recall, there were little paper boxes that we saved our coins in and then turned them in to someone periodically. The nuns encouraged us to bring in our pennies and when we saved up five bucks, bingo!, we bought a baby. I knew immediately what you were referring to even though we never went to church & I went to public school. Five bucks sure went far in 1958! Did the Catholic Schools consider Jewish People Pagans? Pagan babies, we all understood in the 50s, were babies born to parents who did not believe in a monotheistic (1 god) religion, because they had not yet received any instruction. https://www.ncregister.com/blog/where-did-all-the-pagan-babies-go. This reading is starting to stir up memories of holy water, chapel caps, rosaries that lit up a green color in the bed at night, memorizing the Catechism in case the Arch-Bishop asked me a question at our Confirmation, being chosen to carry up the gifts, and on and on. Remember what he said? Oh those Catholics had some great fund raising ideas. Thanks . Each in his or her own way has been a missionary of the Gospel of Christ. I NEVER questioned or was as smart as Charlie. He's probably still wondering, "How did I wind up with For every $10.00 collected you got name the baby. Cant remember anything else about them except I would ask my parents, grandparents and neighbors to buy them. now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a clear conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ" (1 Pet. There must be a lot of pagan Davids running around out there, bought with purloined funds. decided it was no longer a good way to raise money for Catholic missions. Patti Maguire Armstrong Patti Maguire Armstrong is host of the TV talk show Ladies of Another View and an award-winning author and journalist. I Googled it because of my conviction that it was an acronym and I just couldnt quite figure out what the E stood for. I dont know what state you were in at the time, but I have lived in California for the last 60 years. Along the way, in all the villages we passed through, there were people who were full of joy to see young people. I had one certificate for I feel the same way as you do. If only we could all do so well with five bucks , eh ? Its to raise money for the school , the salesman countered . Never heard the term. I love the four Beatles pagan babies idea and the adultery thing ! All for $5. When I was in second grade I ransomed my own pagan baby and named her Pauline Anne after St Theresas oldest sister. Pagan babies are certainly a uniquely Catholic childhood memory! Who could choose the most ridiculous name ? Oh, yes, I remember raising money to save pagan babies. I have no idea what spurred me on this morning to do a search for Pagan Babies maybe I was trying to recall my first exposure to racism. I think there was some small prize involved for any student that sold them. We also collected money in Sunday School for the missions, but we still didnt get to name anyone. For a boy we were expected to choose a name like Matthew, Mark, Luke or John. The whole Pagan Babies thing was a big deal every year and resulted in a lot of competition among the 50+ pupils in Sr. Madeline Sophies 2nd grade class. In most classrooms to encourage donations, the nuns pitted the boys against the girls. I have her a link to your site. Thanks for the comment . But, in fact, the entire program was rooted in a sense of solidarity and charity in the broadest understanding of the word. When you get to heaven have it in your pocket . Im sure we had to change it to Richard, but in our hearts he was our little Ringo. What kind of horrid name is that for a babypagan or not?! I think the whole pagan babies thing was to give us something concrete to hold onto, plus those certificates that we got and plus, of course, naming rights all in the name of raising money for the Churchs missionary work. collections to save unbaptized children not taught about God (Pagan Babies). Davey; Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you. Thanks for commenting. 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. Well I am hurt that you would think I would steal your money to Buy and Name more pagan babies. At the end of the semester, the class that had accumulated the most donations was awarded a prize. Seems like the boxes looked like animal crackers boxes . Your email address will not be published. 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. I remember hearing the term too when I attended parochial school (mid 1960s), but by then it had been replaced by the UNICEF boxes. Please log in to comment by clicking here, Darkness, Desolation Invite People to Draw Closer to God, Pope Says, El Arzobispo de San Juan Celebra la Misa de Nuestra Seora de la Divina Providencia, Powered by Creative Circle Media Solutions. The poor pagan was already named Herman , right ? Whats a pagan ? The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network. I came across an amazing new app called Missio, created by the. pagan babies When I attended Corpus Christi Catholic School in the 1950s and 1960s there was a program we all called Pagan Babies . Catholic Register, more than one-third of millennials now say they are unaffiliated None of my non-Catholic friends ever believed my pagan baby stories, either. Pictures of Cherub-faced Indian, African, and Asian babies graced small cardboard collection boxes given to each child. . Theology should be at the heart of any Catholic university. When I gave my pennies to the missions, I could make a difference. Patti and her husband, Mark, live in North Dakota where they raised their 10 children. Yes, as a lesson for us to be generous the Pagan Babies idea may well have been beneficial . Sold by themeekdontwantit | Ends on 2023-03-07 21:40:38. Glad you enjoyed it . Thanks for the comment. What do we do , Sister , what do we do ? Anyone else do this? Biographies are listed below: 1. We gave our allowances to save those babies. . This made my day. Thanks for the comment . The civil right movement was a much better teacher than The Catholic School system. Herman . 11 Facts About Murdered Bishop David OConnell, Cameron Bertuzzis Conversion to Catholicism, and More Great Links! Christianity is significantly losing members. It is so very true the whole Pagan baby scam my mom complained to the principal about how us kids were made to feel guilty for not coming up with the cash every day some of the richer kids would buy 10s of these Pagan babies I think we came close to sponsoring an entire small tribe in those days, Funny as hell reading this story great memories! Except in the case of fourth grade, 1964, just after the Beatles hit America on Sullivan. One guy talked about confession when he was in third grade. "Wasn't there a bridge we had to get them over. DUDE! Servant of God Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, who once said, My greatest love has always been the missions of the Church, was very much a spiritual presence at the dinner, where his name was invoked several times. Some Irish nuns were there one day to speak to the students . In college, I was given the opportunity to work for a month at a Franciscan mission in Mexico. Pagan babies may have disappeared from collection boxes but they started showing up in our families. The certificates had a picture of a white little toddler sitting down with little black toddlers. I had several, actually all girls named Mary, of course." He stood right in the middle of the group . They were missionaries working somewhere in Africa . Other prizes were plastic pencil cases with a ruler that formed the lid ; it slid out . And so I traveled to Guaymas in the Sonoran desert expecting to accomplish great things. In the 50s It used to be border line sacrilegious to question the church maybe it still is , but after seeing the movie spot light Im thinking maybe Archbishop whats his name might have bought another set of golf clubs ( or something far more sinister ) ? You mean to tell me , he began , that we are supposed to sell a candy bar for a dollar that we could buy in the store for fifty cents It cost $5.00. "I remember Pagan Babies!" Remember the "Pagan Babies"? We all worked hard to buy four boy pagan babies so we could name them John, Paul, George, and Ringo. Or for the poor, underprivileged kids in the USA? My parents and the good (well mostly good) sisters tried the best they could based on their beliefs. It wasnt a huge effort at our school, Christ the King in Pleasant Hill, CA, and im sure i sold very few as my parents were not very supportive of that kind of fundraising. Remember JMJ ? In return they were given a decorative certificate commemorating their We did that too. Maybe the program was intended , at least partially , to teach us generosity . NEW YORK They were called pagan babies, an appellation that would never be used today. With names like Annan, Bryce, and Kegan for boys and Ashling, Darra, and Kelsey for girls, beautiful names that are based on a pagan or Wiccan origin may be perfect for your child. Im assuming youre a good Catholic father and have a tons of kids. Seems like 100 years ago , doesnt it ? When they reached $5, they then ransomed a child overseas, got a certificate and the right to name the child. He was a bartender later in life , at least for awhile . Pagan babies may have disappeared from collection boxes but they started showing up in our families. I guess our efforts got similarly fierce , but I never got sucked into that . Two stories I recall from those days: one boy in my room kept bringing in UNBELIEVABLY large amounts every day (. Maybe the kids of today are more savvy . Posted Wed, May 23, 2012 at 9:53 am PT | Updated Fri, May 25, 2012 at 5:40 pm PT. If theres a study done of it , I dont know . Thanks for a trip down memory lane and validating my recollection. There were competitions between classes . Like using Necco wafers to practice First Holy Communion. Scripture references baptism of entire households, never saying except the babies. (Acts 16:15, Acts 16:33, 1 Cor. Congratulations for moving on and helping children in other countries. We were never quite sure what a pagan was . - Donna B. Those who would like to know what became of their pagan babies will get a chance to find out when Pontifical Mission Societies formally launches its Great Works Campaign in the coming months. As for the naming part, while it seemed charming at the time, if it really were true, how outrageous for us to name an African baby Mary Margaret or other Western name. Pretty danged patronizing, offensive concept it was, too. went into some general fund and wasnt really sent where we imagined that it was sent at the time . She prayed, and she prayed, and she prayed with her rosary novena for my vocation. A Philadelphia punk band formed in 1986. Seriously has anyone ever ran into a pagan baby named Herman or Mary or any other name?? Seen the movie Mea Culpa? Boys usually purchased boys, and girls purchased girls. or school. Thanks for your input . Sorry man , no money for you . Please email comments to [emailprotected] and join the conversation on our Facebook page. So it had to be pretty official, like our nun just couldnt pull a certificate out of her drawer and fill in the name.no, I think that it had to be signed by the big Catholic mucky-mucks. We sort of ran the name together so it came out pegginbebbies. I used to contribute nickels and dimes (along with my other and less devout classmates) so together as a class we got to choose the pegginbebbies name from a list of nominees. We collected money (I think) for UNICEF but we didnt get to name anyone. Those memories come from a ways back . 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 . It seemed like an almost daily ordeal for the class nun to individually quiz each student, asking if they had made a contribution on that particular day. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. The beanies covered our heads during morning Mass. My vocation has been in education, and in the thirty-plus years since my summer in Mexico I have accompanied students on many short sojourns to the front lines in Tijuana, Nicaragua, El Salvador, East Los Angeles, New Orleans. The students were raring and ready to go sell the candy and get the prizes . Wowi do remember that now that you mention it. Another thing at every Catholic school in those days were collections to save pagan babiesunbaptized children not taught about God. 25, 2012 at 9:53 am PT | Updated Fri, may 23, 2012 at 9:53 PT... About to fly off to baptize the pagans 16:15, Acts 16:33, 1 Cor be a of... Here is sister Mary So-and-So in the middle of the word trip down memory lane and validating my recollection with!, Paul, George, and they asked if it was the boys the... 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Hearts he was in third grade certificate for I feel the same way as you do we worked. `` was n't there a bridge we had to change it to Richard, but in our..
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