This came up as my mom & I were speculating how soon my sister and brother-in-law might have the christening after their first baby is born (expected in about a month). Mom claimed that, when she discussed this with my sister, the latter declared it "wouldn't be a pagan baby for long!"
OK, show of hands - how many of you were encouraged, if not required, by your grade school teachers to save your pennies, nickels, and dimes for "pagan babies"? My mom told me that when she was growing up, the nuns told them they were "ransoming" the pagan babies! My teachers didn't use that verb, but they did still call 'em pagan babies. I imagine the money donated went to missionaries running a children's hospital in deepest, darkest Africa or some such thing, and I doubt that all the beneficiaries, or even a plurality, were actually babies, but still... I wonder how many American Catholic children (did the Episcopal schools do this too?) thought they were adopting a brother or sister? I don't recall thinking very much about it; we were asked for coins, we dutifully brought in our pocket change.
2 comments:
I can't speak for Episcopal schools, but Episcopal churches aren't into ransoming.
I don't recall ever hearing this mentioned in church, only in school.
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