Dumped: Abandoned baby Carla left for the nuns to love

Wrapped in a white, hooded shawl, the newborn baby girl slept peacefully inside a duffel bag when she was placed on the doorstep of a convent in Rabat.

The Ursuline sisters were “shocked” when the doorbell rang yesterday morning and, like a scene out of an old movie, they opened to find the baby, barely a day old, in a blue and white checked bag, the mother superior, Sr Judith Busuttil said.

The nuns immediately called a doctor who found that the newborn was healthy and had been fed sometime before being placed behind the convent’s gate.

The baby was baptised in hospital and the nuns named her Carla since yesterday was the feast of St Carlos Borromeo. Once the child is released from hospital she will be taken to the Ursuline crèche in Sliema unless her mother steps forward.

The nuns also informed the police who are investigating whether this was a case of abandonment and whether the mother is in some form of trouble. They will be viewing the footage from a nearby CCTV camera, sources said.

“The doorbell rang at about 10.45 a.m. and one of our elderly nuns opened,” Sr Judith said, adding that the last time a baby was found on the convent’s doorstep was about 14 years ago. The elderly nun summoned a helper to assist her.

“The bag was opened. When the helper looked inside she was shocked to see there was a baby girl... She was asleep. The postman happened to be passing by when the helper shouted out that there was a baby. The two came in and called me.

“The baby was calm and quiet. I picked her up and held her close to me because I could not leave her in the bag,” Sr Judith said, adding that the child was fair-skinned.

She was wearing a nappy, a white babygro and a white shawl with a hood. There was nothing else in the duffel bag that is now in the hands of the police. A magisterial inquiry, led by Magistrate Anthony Vella, is also ongoing.

“The mother must be going through a very tough time. My appeal to her is to pull herself together. She was courageous enough to see her pregnancy through and not get rid of the baby or abort her... I’m sure this baby will have a nice future,” Sr Judith said.

Babies’ plight

In November 1997, a newborn baby boy, who was called Mario, was abandoned outside the Ursuline crèche in Sliema.

Four years ago, a newborn was found abandoned in a shoebox in an alley in Cospicua. His mother had come forward and is today raising her son.

Last year, an Eritrean woman in desperation abandoned her two-month-old child in the office of a priest.