Zelie's Baptism

Zelie was baptized on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord (at 3pm no less!). Before she was born, we'd planned to have Zelie baptized at our normal parish, St. Clare. However, after leaving a message with the parish office to set things up, Lauren, Zelie's godmother, told us that one of her priest friends had offered to do a private baptism if we wanted. Well, after not getting a call back from our parish office (which is odd) AND discovering that Lauren's friend, Father Sullivan, was free for a January 10 (Baptism of Our Lord) baptism, AND discovering that he was also going to be attending the Saints Louis and Zelie Martin canonization mass, we decided it was a sign that this was the way to go. 

Did that sentence make any sense? 

It's getting really late… I can't proofread. Just can't.

Fr. Sullivan went above and beyond, and graciously offered to hear confessions beforehand. (Don't worry, we got him a really nice bottle of liquor for his efforts. #Catholic.) Lauren, Will, and I got our souls all squeaky clean. I also had him bless a rosary gifted to Zelie from Grandpa Ned that he bought during a quick stop at Belmont Abbey. 

It was a really special ceremony. Not that all baptisms aren't really special, but you get what I'm saying. Little Will was baptized on Easter Sunday in front of a packed house, so we had to make an effort to do it up big. Will's parents were in town and some close St. Louis friends came, toddlers in tow. Little Will led the charge of getting into things he shouldn't behind the altar. Then afterwards, we had dinner across the street at a nice Italian place with didn't skimp on the cheese in its lasagna. SDG.

Smuggling out some holy water.

Indelibly marked.

Welcome to the Church, sweet Zelie Clare!