St Dominic and Our Daughter's Name

Today is the primary Patronal Feast of our youngest daughter, Dominique Maureen Anne Elizabeth. There is an amusing story behind her rather lengthy name.

The Cuter and Shorter Half and I liked to be surprised when a child was born. As I always said, 'As long as it's healthy with ten fingers and ten toes, I'm happy'. Ergo, we never let our doctor tell us what sex was found in the ultrasounds.

When we were expecting our third child, who turned out to be Charles Albert Mary (all of our children, male and female, have the Blessed Mother's name somewhere in their Christian names), we had also picked out a girl's name, Anne Elizabeth Mary.

By the time the girl came along, we had forgotten that name, so we racked our brains for a new pair of names, and settled on Dominique Maureen for the girl's name. Maureen is an Anglicized form of Máirín, a pet form of Máire, which is the Irish cognate of Mary, so the Blessed Mother was included, and the C&S H's Irish heritage was honoured.

When she was born, both her older brothers were in day care. One of the other children in their day care was an infant girl named Anne. The boys decided that all little girls were named Anne and started calling their sister 'Annie'. We thought, 'That's a good, solid Saint's name. We'll add it to Dominique Maureen'.

Her Baptism was set for 19 November in a small country Church where a good friend of ours was Pastor (he witnessed our marriage and baptised all of our children). Being the curious sort I am, I wanted to know what Saints were commemorated on the day. I looked in my Missal, and discovered that St Elizabeth of Hungary, Widow, was celebrated on 19 November. Immediately, a light went on in my head, and I remembered 'Anne Elizabeth' the name we had originally picked for our next daughter. As a result, she was baptised with all four Christian names. However, despite the boys' confusion, she was never called 'Annie', rapidly becoming 'Nikki', which she still uses.

But, it gets better!

I was corresponding regularly with HIRH Otto von Habsburg, de jure Emperor of Austria-Hungary, at the time. Remembering the old custom in Catholic monarchies of asking the Emperor or King to stand sponsor for a child, I wrote His Imperial and Royal Highness asking if he and his gracious consort, HIRH Regina, would stand Godparents to our new child. He replied that they would be honoured to do so.

Father's Parish had no secretary, so he had to handle chores like typing up Baptismal certificates himself. When we got there and he had rolled the blank certificate into the typewriter (yes, it was a long time ago!), he asked for her names. With a straight face, I replied, 'Dominique Maureen Anne Elizabeth'. he looked rather perplexed at four Christian names, but he diligently typed them out.

The he asked who her Godparents were. He knew we had proxies to stand for the absent sponsors, but not who they were. With an absolutely straight face, repressing the urge to laugh, I said, 'Their Imperial and Royal Highnesses the Archduke Otto and Archduchess Regina von Habsburg und Lothringen'! I think he almost went, 'What!?', but repressed the urge. He asked me to spell the names, which I did. After typing them out, he looked up at me and said, 'I want an extra offering for typing this all out!'

His name was Fr McGinn, and he normally signed 'Charles T. McGinn' the signature on our wedding certificate and the other baptismal certificates. On this one, however, he signed 'Charles Thomas Michael McGinn'!

So, I used to tell our daughter, when she was small, that I couldn't find her a Fairy Godmother, but I had managed to find her an Imperial one.

Happy St Dominic's Day!

The Third Reading from the Matins of the Divine Office for today,

Reading 3
Born at Calaruega in Spain of the noble family of Guzman, Dominic studied the liberal arts and theology at Palencia. At first he was made a canon of the church of Osma; later he became the founder of the Order of Preachers. His genius and virtue were most conspicuous in the conversion of the heretics who were trying to pervert the people of Toulouse. He went to Rome and asked Pope Innocent III to approve and confirm his Order, and obtained this approval from his successor Honorius III. After seeing his efforts bring innumerable men to a religious and holy life, he bequeathed charity, humility and poverty as a solid heritage to his disciples, and fell asleep in the Lord at Bologna on the 6th day of August, 1221, while these words were being said: Come ye to help him, O ye Saints of God! run ye to meet him, O ye Angels! Pope Gregory IX enrolled him among the Saints.
V. But thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us.
R. Thanks be to God.

The Collect for his Feast,

O God, Who hast been pleased to shed throughout thy Church the light of the worthy deeds and healthful teaching of thy blessed Confessor Dominic, grant unto the same, with the help of his prayers, that she may never be either helpless in things temporal, or barren in things spiritual.
Through Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end.
R. Amen.

And a link to the article 'St Dominic' at the Catholic Encyclopedia.