Affirming Trust in God’s Mercy

We had a full term baby boy on March 17th, 1964, who was stillborn.  My wife had told the doctor a day or two earlier, that something was wrong, and we believe they knew something they were not telling us.  My wife, Mary Ann, was so worried, and so she baptized the child while still in the womb, even though we knew it wasn't an actual baptism.  Well, the child William (Billy) was born after a very hard and long labor, and I can't remember if a priest conditionally baptized him or not at this time.

But due to my wife's very hard labor, she had to stay in the hospital for a number of days, during which time our son was buried.  The doctor and our parents thought it best if my wife did not see the child (remember, it was 1964), but I did get to see him (he was perfect and beautiful) in his little coffin before he was buried in my mom's future grave.  We had a nice, simple private service at the grave-site.

It was absolutely horrible for my wife, though, as this was our second child.  Our first was a beautiful girl and we went on to have four more children, so we had one boy and four girls to love and raise. 

But, Mary Ann and I always wondered, hoped, and prayed that Billy was in Heaven and God's mercy and just Judgment would prevail and he was in Heaven, and not somewhere else, like Limbo.  After a long time and the energy it took to raise our family, we just put our trust in God about this.

We always remembered our son Billy on St. Patrick's day (my wife was Irish); we never really celebrated it but just talked a bit about him and wondered what he would be doing, and his brother and sisters would also chime it, so he was always a part of our family.

My wife died on April 19th, 2018, after a four year illness.

Well, when I read the Catholic Times article in the December 7th, 2025 issue, I was so shocked and so unbelievably happy to see an incorrupt baby Brian, and the associated story about what your family thought, and went through, I just knew our baby Billy was in heaven, and enjoying the beatific vision along with my wife, and also with Brian.

As a note, I have seen some incorrupt Saints in my travels (along with my wife) in pilgrimages to Europe.  So I am not a stranger to the mystery and grace that is given to us by these very special Saints.

I was so excited I photographed the whole article, and sent it on to each of my four girls (the son we raised died in a tragic accident in 2003).  They were, of course, all very happy to see about Brian, and after some education on what it means to be incorrupt, they shared my excitement.

No matter what happens with Brian's case, and the infant baptism clarifications, I fully believe this is a miracle of immense importance and it has lifted a cloud of concern for my own son, and for that I will always be eternally grateful to you and your team for "putting it out there" for people like me and my family.

Bill