A priest in Washington state delivered the twin babies of a homeless woman in September. According to Catholic Extension, Father Jesús Mariscal had stepped out of the rectory for a quick trip to buy donuts for a marriage preparation meeting with an engaged couple when he saw a homeless woman who appeared to be in distress.
The woman was standing near a statue of Mary, Our Lady of Immaculate Conception, which is on the property of St. Paul Cathedral in Yakima, Washington. He noticed blood at the woman’s feet as she cried out, “I need help! I’m having a baby! I’m having it now! I’m having it now!”
Father Mariscal called 911 and helped the woman to lie down. Putting his phone on speaker, he did as the 911 dispatcher instructed. He said it was just seconds later that the woman gave birth to a baby boy.
But then she cried out, “I’m having another!”
He then delivered a second baby boy who was still in the amniotic sac moving around. Instructed to break it open, he struggled to burst the sac using just his hands. When he was finally successful, the baby boy was not breathing, and Father Mariscal noticed the umbilical cord was around his neck.
He told Catholic Extension that the 911 operator had him remove the cord from around the neck, lay the baby on his side, and gently tap him on the back. The baby began to cry loudly and Father Mariscal placed him in his mother’s arms with his brother. The paramedics arrived shortly after and took the woman and her babies to the hospital.
READ: Mom of sextuplets delivers three sets of twins in just nine minutes
The priest texted the couple he was supposed to meet with to apologize for being late, but they didn’t believe his story, replying, “LOL Father. You don’t have to lie.”
Medical professionals determined that the baby boys were born prematurely at just 30 weeks but they are said to be doing well. Father Mariscal was able to visit them at the hospital, but said that their mother left the hospital of her own accord — without her children — a few hours after being admitted. At the time of the report, she had not returned.
“It’s a beautiful story on one side, but heartbreaking on the other,” said Father Mariscal. “It was a surreal experience. It was like something from a movie. I was there holding a baby with my bloody hands, and the baby was all bloody as well, and I’m dressed in clerics. And I’m a priest in front of the shrine of Our Lady. And I was thinking, ‘What is God trying to tell me? What are you trying to tell me, God? What is this about?”
A native of Mexico and former migrant worker, Father Mariscal was ordained in 2018. Since then, he has spent time offering guidance and support to migrant workers. He has also held Mass in fields and orchards to reach those workers who can’t attend Mass in a church.
Catholic Extension also wondered what God was saying to Father Mariscal, whose own mother died a few years ago. “[T]he reality is that there are two new babies who have come into this world thanks to his quick thinking and action,” states the article. “And, although they have entered the world at a disadvantage, like Jesus, with ‘no place to rest their heads,’ these children have hope of being received with love and reared in caring homes.”
