Members of St. Dominic Church were commemorating the last hours of Jesus Christ’s life when a mother snuck a newborn baby into the church and left it in a bathroom sink.
“First day of the baby’s life and last day of Christ’s,” Sister Francine Schwarzenberger said Saturday morning inside the church at 2909 Federal Blvd., in northwest Denver.
The newborn baby boy, wrapped only in a T-shirt, was left in a sink inside a restroom Friday night while members were commemorating the Stations of the Cross in the cathedral, according to the Rev. Clint Honokomp, a Dominican priest.
“Nobody has any idea who the mother could be. The mother did what she thought was best,” Honokomp said. “I applaud her for that. We prayed for the well-being of the mother and her newborn.”
Meantime, Denver police continue to investigate the case that is considered child abandonment because the mother didn’t follow Colorado law and leave the baby with a fire station or at a hospital.
If a baby is properly left at those locations within three days of birth, it is not a crime in Colorado.
“A newborn needs a lot of attention, and he’s not getting it in a sink,” said Leslie Branch-Wise, Denver police spokeswoman. “Was the baby in the sink for 10 minutes or . . . there for an hour? Nobody knows.”
Doctors estimate the baby was left at the church within four hours of birth, Branch-Wise said.
During a meeting of ministers at St. Dominic’s in the basement Saturday morning, Honokomp commended police for their obvious concern for the well-being of both mother and child. He then led a prayer for the welfare of mother and baby.
Children attending a service the night before found the baby about 9 p.m. They told their mother, who rushed the baby to St. Anthony Central Hospital. Church members called police.
Antonio Guerrero was leading the church service Friday night when the child was left anonymously in the bathroom.
“We can’t judge anyone for doing something like this,” he said. “The economy; it’s hard.”
Schwarzenberger had tears in her eyes as she speculated what circumstances the mother must have been in for her to leave her child at the church.
“She may not have food or shelter. She may have given birth on the street,” she said. “I don’t think people feel safe or secure. So many don’t have money.”
But Schwarzenberger added that she is grateful the mother cared for her child.
“She had enough compassion for the child to bring him where he would get help and didn’t leave him somewhere where he might not have been found,” she said.
Police are concerned about the welfare of the mother because of the unknown circumstances of the birth, Branch-Wise said.
“There can be complications if a baby is not properly delivered,” she said.
Kirk Mitchell: 303-954-1206 or kmitchell@denverpost.com
