Bologna, August 11, 2026 – “They had put a little cap and a bodysuit on her, and over that a blanket. She was clean and cared for. We took her in our arms. She didn’t cry at all. She must have been ten hours old. She was a tiny little star. That’s why it came naturally to us to call her Stella. Maria Stella.” An indescribable emotion that the nuns of via Tambroni found in their hands the other evening when, sleepy and incredulous, they heard the ’phone call’ announcing the Open Cradle: that Cradle for Life on via Guidicini which in nine years (since it was inaugurated on May 13, 2017) had never welcomed a baby. Until now.
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Zuppi: “Desperation did not prevent the mother from giving life”
An emotion that involves the whole city, which holds its breath these hours following the story of the little one. And that even reaches Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, Archbishop of Bologna and president of the CEI: “I remember when I blessed the cradle of life! Even just for having saved Maria Stella, it was worth it – the cardinal’s words –. Desperation did not prevent the mother from giving life. And it is always the best choice obviously for those who would not have it, but also for those who generated it. And the joy and emotion of those who welcomed Maria Stella show how only life gives meaning to life and we must never be afraid of it.”
The blessing
Then the blessing to the little one and to the woman who on Saturday, in the dark of night, opened that Cradle and left her there, no one knows in what despair: “God bless little Maria Stella and also her mother. And help us to do everything, always and for everyone, to welcome and protect life,” says Zuppi.
The nuns: “We rushed out and found her there”
It was 10:45 p.m. when the alarm went off. The Minime Sisters of Santa Clelia Barbieri were already in bed. At the moment they didn’t know what to think. The Cradle was inaugurated on May 16, 2017 and in all this time they had never left a baby. “Often, however, the sound was activated when they opened it for other things, for example to leave us the mail,” one of the nuns recounts. So they turned on the monitor: and they saw that little bundle. “We rushed out and found her there. One of us took her in her arms, rocked her, meanwhile we cuddled her and ’talked’ to her. She was beautiful.” The nuns immediately called 118 and help arrived in a few minutes. Then Maria Stella was taken to Sant’Orsola and is now hospitalized in Neonatology. The little one weighs less than two kilos, but the doctor examined her and she is fine, not in life-threatening condition. In the last 48 hours the phone at the institute on via Tambroni has rung many times: many ask for information, say they would like to adopt the little one.
The Cradle
In the Cradle there is the holy card of Gianna Beretta Molla, who gave her life to bring her baby into the world. “An exemplary gesture, a hymn to life,” emphasizes the nun. Since it was inaugurated, “we have taken care of that Cradle, always keeping it clean and making sure the electronic part worked well. We also put a little mattress.” The Cradle “operates 360 days a year, there is always someone here. When the baby is left – she explains –, the door lowers very slowly, precisely to give the mother time to take him back in case of a change of mind.” But the door lowered to welcome the little one into the cradle and after a few seconds the alarm went off. “For us, as a community, it was a very strong emotion,” says the nun.
Now, it will be necessary to wait for ten days before Maria Stella is declared ’adoptable’. “If possible, we will go to visit her in the hospital. We would be very happy,” say the nuns.
“We ask the regional council and Mayor Lepore to reverse course – the appeal of Pro Vita & Famiglia – to fund Cradles for Life, life support centers and funds for difficult motherhood.”
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