“I looked around and didn’t see anyone”, said the custodian who found the baby, Jose Moran.
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The baby’s umbilical cord was still attached.
After hearing the baby cry, Mr Moran alerted the parish priest, the Reverend Christopher Ryan Heanue and called 911.
Emergency crews were called to the scene.
NY police are searching for the parents of a baby boy left in a manger at the city’s Holy Child of Jesus Church. Officials said that churches are included in the places covered by the law, but the parent must alert someone to the child’s presence, or leave the child in the care of someone at the location.
A video of the woman buying towels at a store about a block away from the church was also found, showing the woman carrying the baby wrapped inside her coat.
NY state law allows for newborns to be anonymously surrendered at safe havens, which includes churches, police stations, firehouses and hospitals, as long as the infant is given to an appropriate person.
Although churches can be considered a safe haven for dropping off infants without fear of prosecution in NY, someone is supposed to be told the child is being left.
The newborn has been taken to hospital where he is in good health, police say.
‘The baby was brand new, ‘ Heanue said. The crying infant, umbilical cord still attached, was found Monday by a custodian of the church, the same man who had set up the nativity scene before taking his lunch break.
The New York Times reported that the police said the baby was not left with anyone, nor was anyone alerted.
“Pray for him and for his mother whoever she might be”, Cisneros wrote on his Facebook page.
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The pastor of the church was on Fox News on Wednesday morning and he said that a couple that belong to his parish are very interested in adopting this baby.
