Six students baptized April 23 take cardinal’s name

For six students at St. Mary of the Lake School, 1026 W. Buena Ave., April 23 will not be remembered so much as the day of Cardinal George’s funeral, but as the day they were reborn in Christ.

The students, who range in age from 5 to 10, were all baptized in front of their school community following the school Mass that morning, and all took as a second name Francis or Frances in honor of the cardinal.

“What a beautiful thing you did by taking Francis as a special name,” said Deacon Paul Spalla, who baptized the children. “I’m sure Cardinal George was looking down on us from heaven, because he knows our school. I’m sure he’s very, very happy that we have this wonderful school and these wonderful children.”

St. Mary of the Lake principal Christine Boyd said the baptism was planned long before Cardinal George died on April 17. The school celebrates the baptisms of several students nearly every year, she said.

“We have a lot of immigrant families, and sometimes when you are changing countries, you don’t get around to the baptism,” she said. “These families are Catholic, and this is really catchup for them.”

The children baptized on April 23 have families that hail from Ghana, Cameroon, Togo and Mexico. Three of the Tetedje siblings were baptized: Sarah, Nicholas and Patrick. Sarah, a 9- year-old fourth-grader, said she and her younger brothers were excited to join their parents and an older brother who were already baptized as Catholics.

In preparing for the day, she said, she learned a bit about St. Francis of Assisi.

“I learned that he loved animals and loved to sing,” she said. “If someone loves animals and loves to sing, you know they are a good person.”

Boyd said that it was especially fitting that the students be baptized on the day of Cardinal George’s funeral Mass because of the cardinal’s strong commitment to Catholic schools.

Boyd said the school always schedules the baptisms following a school Mass so that the students’ classmates can witness it.

“It’s good for the other children to see that, so they can see the whole ritual and understand what baptism means,” she said.

Sarah said it also was good for her. “I liked having the support of my friends,” she said.

The other children baptized were Samuel Sarpong, Catalina Rodriguez and Ivana Ndum.

Ivana said the day marks a new beginning in her life. Her father, Ferdinand Ndum, said that giving her the name Frances means that “this will always be a holy day in our hearts”