Surrendering a newborn, whether through adoption or utilizing a Safe Haven box, hospital, or law enforcement agency, is a difficult decision to make. These legal options are in place to support parents who find themselves in impossible circumstances. Unfortunately, a heartbreaking incident occurred recently in Italy, where a newborn was discovered deceased inside a box specifically designed for abandoned babies at a church.
An investigation is currently underway after the discovery of the infant’s body. It appears that the alarm, which was supposed to notify the church about the presence of a baby in the box, did not go off. The police are now working to determine whether the baby boy was already deceased when he was handed over.
The baby’s body was discovered on January 2.
On January 2, a tragic incident occurred at the San Giovanni Battista Church in Bari. A baby boy was found lifeless in a “thermal cradle” designed for abandoned infants. It was reported that the discovery took place in the morning. This heartbreaking event has left the community in shock and sadness.
A local funeral director in Italy stumbled upon an abandoned newborn, lifeless and left in a box.
According to CNN, a baby box was discovered outside a church by a local funeral home director. The baby box is strategically placed for privacy reasons. Surprisingly, the person who left the baby did not close the door to the room where the box was located, resulting in the alarm not being triggered.
Father Antonio Ruccia provided an explanation of the functioning of the cradle.
Father Antonio Ruccia, the parish priest, mentioned to Ansa that his cell phone, which is connected to the cradle, did not ring.
Ruccia, in an interview with La Repubblica, expressed the possibility that the baby boy could have been saved. However, she emphasized the importance of forgiveness. The infant was approximately one month old at the time.
The incident is now under investigation by the police.
The box has proven effective in two other cases.
According to a report by La Repubblica, the baby box had been used twice before the January 2025 tragedy. Infants were successfully recovered on July 19, 2020, and on December 23, 2023. The church decided to add the box after a baby was tragically found dead in Monopoli back in 2015, as reported by Ansa.
