an infant found dead in a “baby box” located in a church

The lifeless body of an infant was found on January 2 in a cradle intended for the abandonment of newborns, in the church of San Giovanni Battista in Poggiofranco, near Bari, Italy, reports the Italian daily Corriere della Sera .

The person who abandoned the little victim would not have closed the door to the room housing the cradle, thus preventing the triggering of an alarm intended to warn the parish priest and the switching on of the heating, the newspaper continues.

The baby was one month old

It was a funeral agency which made this sinister discovery. The company had gone to the San Giovanni Battista church in Poggiofranco, near Bari, Puglia, for a funeral. Passing by the abandonment crib, which had already saved two babies in the past, an employee noticed that a newborn was inside. Unfortunately, the little baby, dressed with “a military-style checkered jumpsuit”a sleeveless down jacket and a wool hat, was no longer breathing, reports The Republic . The infant was about a month old. No notes or personal effects were found near the body. Investigators are now trying to determine whether the newborn was already deceased when he was placed in the crib, or if he died of hypothermia.

“What happened this morning is unfortunate. We have done all the technical checks, there have been no defects or anything else and everything is fine. The news shocked and saddened us”lamented Father Don Autonio Ruccia, to of the Messagero .“I did not imagine that this new year could begin in such a painful way: between the wars in the world and what happened today, before our eyes, I have the impression of witnessing a massacre of innocents »the priest reacted again. The latter nevertheless wanted to emphasize the essential role of these cradles for newborns in churches. “It still shows that the cradle of our church is useful. I’m sure this newborn is already in heaven, he will be a beautiful angel.” added the priest.

A device widespread in Europe

The pod, installed in a small room overlooking the sidewalk a few meters from the entrance gate, was inaugurated in 2014, in collaboration with the neonatology department of the Bari polyclinic. In January 2023, a little girl was also found in this little bed by the parish priest, reports The Republic, and placed with a foster family.

Since 2006, Italy has made available several dozen “cradles for life” intended for the abandonment of babies in its churches and hospitals. In Italy, this practice has its origins in the 13th century: women left their babies in a “wheel”a wheel embedded in the wall of a children’s home affiliated with the church, which allowed the mother to anonymously give her child to the institution, recalls CNN to this effect. Since its inception, this device has made it possible to save around forty children. These “baby boxes” are also widespread in around ten other European countries, but not in France, which on the other hand authorizes childbirth under X, allowing you to give birth anonymously, in a public or private establishment.