Congratulations, Mary and David!

My niece Mary, and her husband David, have announced the arrival of their first baby, a daughter, Margaret Mary.

As well as being a name that appears in several generations of my family, Margaret Mary is the name of the great saint who made known to the world  the wish of Our Lord to be venerated under the title of the Divine Mercy.
The Church has always encouraged the faithful to name their children after  saints because of the powers of intercession that saints have, and because, to use a modern phrase, saints are the real 'role models'.

St Margaret Mary Alacoque, now there is a patron!

Baby Margaret Mary has the further distinction of being the heaviest baby of my extended family (11lb12oz) as well as the first of this new generation.

So, now I'm a great-aunt.....