Memorial mass held for Baby Doe, ‘the child of all of us’

When staring into the eyes of her nameless computer-rendered image, even the toughest of hard hearts can’t deny the new shade of sorrow enters the equation: Futility.

What more can be done? Who hasn’t seen her picture? Who hasn’t heard this tragic tale? Who hasn’t already asked, “Who is she?”

Millions of social media views, candlelight vigils and nationally broadcasted pleas have fallen flat thus far.

But local leaders stood before a crowded Mass and told the people in the pews that she belongs to all of us.

At a somber mass for the child known to only to the world as Baby Doe held on Wednesday morning, the heartbreaking reality of knowing that the child found in a bag with her blanket on Deer Island has remained unclaimed with no credible leads for over a month now took center stage at the Paulist Center in Downtown Boston.

“Public safety officials have put forth great effort to identify this adorable little girl,” Father Rick Walsh said. “All of us are mystified that thus far, no one has stepped forward to acknowledge who this little one is.”

Walsh answered the question of, “To whom does she belong?” His answer was simple and direct: She is ours. She is a daughter of the Commonwealth. She belongs to us.

“Our little sister has not died in vain,” Walsh said. “In not having a name thus far, she has become an icon for all missing children.”

A woman was out walking her dog on Deer Island on June 25 when she came across the tear-jerking sight of a little girl in polka dotted legging with her zebra-stripped blanket in a trash bag. Suffolk County District Attorney Dan Conley said that she hadn’t been there long long. There were no visible signs of trauma and a cause of death has not been determined.

“Every time I see my daughter, I think about this little girl and the stories that must rest in the narrative of her birth and her time here on earth,” Baker said. “And truthfully, the only thing I take any comfort in, because so much of that is unknown to this day, is that I do know she is in a better place. And an event like this gives us all an opportunity to take some comfort in that.”

Baker, House Speaker Robert DeLeo, Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito and about a dozen legislators attended Wednesday’s memorial service at the Paulist Center. DeLeo, whose district includes Deer Island, said his office organized the service.

“I think all of us are trying to find some solace and I think today we did do that,” he said after the Mass. “One of the things that hit home with me today, is when you think about this child and you think this child is alone. This child didn’t die without family or anyone, she is the child of all of us.”