About the DVD:
Source:  The Rosary Project

"Holy Baby! Seven Prayers In Seven Languages" gives parents a positive, impassioned and creative tool that introduces infants and young children to seven foundational prayers of the Rosary in seven major languages of the world, including English, French, Spanish, Latin, Vietnamese, German and Portuguese.  The show is hosted by Baby Scholastica, a three-dimensional animated cartoon character inspired by the scholarly Saint Scholastica, sister of Saint Benedict and champion of prayer and bold faith in God and Scripture.

The DVD runs approximately 30 minutes and is targeted towards children ages 0-5 years.  The project carries the endorsement of the Archbishop of Denver, The Most Reverand Charles Chaput.  This DVD was inspired by Pope John Paul II's call in 2003 to instill the Rosary and other prayer into the everyday lives of our families. 

CatholicMom.com recommends "Holy Baby!" as a wonderful tool for sharing this beautiful devotional prayer with the youngest members of our Catholic families...and who knows, maybe Mom and Dad will learn something new too!

For more information about "Holy Baby!" visit The Rosary Project or to order the DVD through CatholicMom.com visit Aquinas & More. 

LH: I am pleased to have the opportunity to share the following Catholic Mom Spotlight Interview with Dede Laugesen, Co-Creator and Director of "Holy Baby!", a newly created DVD for Catholic families. Dede, could you please start off by telling us a little bit about the DVD? What is "Holy Baby!" and who is the intended audience for the DVD?

DL: Holy Baby! DVDs are prayer-based videos that are intended to expose very little children, ages birth to five years, to prayer and Catholic spirituality while entertaining them with a parade of delightful sights and sounds.

Our first DVD, Holy Baby! Seven Prayers in Seven Languages, lets little children listen to seven prayers of the Rosary: Sign of the Cross, Apostle’s Creed, Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be, O My Jesus and Hail Holy Queen in seven languages: English, Spanish, French, Latin, Vietnamese, German, and Portuguese.

Each prayer is repeated seven times, each time in a different language. Using the DVD menu system, viewers may also choose to hear each prayer repeated seven times in one specific language. Because we offer eight language tracks —one mixed language track and seven specific language tracks—we are not able to offer Holy Baby! on VHS. The VHS medium is simply not able to handle so many language tracks.

Four other Holy Baby! DVDs are in the works. The plan is to release one every year for the next four years starting in 2005.

LH: What was the inspiration behind the project and how were you able to succeed in producing the project?

DL: My husband, Wayne, and I are both journalists and parents. We have four young boys ranging in age from ten to two years. I am a broadcast journalist. I have worked with C-Span, Radio America, a number of radio shows and a couple of national magazines. Wayne is a correspondent for the National Catholic Register. So, when the DVD medium came along we were inspired to create something using this media.

I suggested we create a DVD based on the Rosary, one of my favorite devotions next to Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. One month later, our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, announced the Year of the Rosary. We felt he had confirmed our initial desire. After reading his letter on the Rosary, we knew we had our marching orders. The Pope said that youth would take up the Rosary again if given a pastoral approach “which is positive, impassioned and creative…” He implored, “Do not let this appeal of mine go unheard!”

On May 1, 2003, the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker, Wayne and I turned to prayer for further inspiration. Ten minutes after that prayer the plan for the first Holy Baby! DVD was written out on the grease board. We immediately had the company consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and we were off and running. Less than three months later Holy Baby! Seven Prayers in Seven Languages was ready for release. The first DVDs shipped on the Feast of the Assumption, August 15, 2003. Since then we have sold thousands of DVDs. We know that Mary is hard at work through us as we humbly endeavor to help her bring prayer into the homes of families with little children.

LH: "Holy Baby!" carries the endorsement of Denver Archbishop Charles J. Chaput and has earned positive comments from many respected Catholics. What priority did you place on making the DVD loyal to the teachings of the Church?

DL: Truthfulness to Our Holy Mother Church and to Her teachings is our number one priority! We will not swerve from Her unalterable truths. Mary is our boss and the Church is our font of grace. There can be no other before Her for through Her we are brought to the heavenly throne of Our Lord Jesus Christ. That is why we call our company “The Rosary Project.” We, like Mary, are called, through prayer, to be bearers of light in the world. It is through the Catholic Church that all of this is possible. Thanks be to God!

LH: Why "Seven Languages"?


DL: Early childhood education specialists and various secular experts are beginning to prove what we Catholics have always known—babies have amazing potential!

Christian pollster, George Barna, recently concluded that most people die believing about God whatever they learned of him before the age of nine. Studies also show that very young infants learn from watching and listening. Finally, it is said that children who are exposed to foreign languages before the age of seven will have a much easier time learning foreign languages as they grow into adulthood.

All of this aside, as members of the Church Universal, we lift our prayers to God with many languages, but one voice—the voice of Christ. By including seven languages, we strive to show our children the richness of diversity and faith that exists within the Body of Christ while at the same time showing them that the prayers they learn in their home are the same prayers being prayed by other Catholics in cultures far different than their own.

LH: Tell us a little bit more about "Baby Scholastica" and her role in "Holy Baby!"

DL: Each Holy Baby! DVD is hosted by an adorable three-dimensional cartoon character of a baby saint. Holy Baby! Seven Prayers in Seven Languages is hosted by Baby Scholastica. Saint Scholastica was the twin sister of Saint Benedict and was a champion of bold faith and Scripture.

Our next DVD, Holy Baby! Family Feast, which will be released next summer, is based on the prayers and images of the Mass. The show’s host is Baby Imelda. Blessed Imelda Lambertini (d.1333), being a very pious child, joined the Dominican order at the young age of nine years old. She greatly desired to receive Jesus in the Eucharist but at the time, children did not receive Communion until they were twelve years of age. After Mass one day when she was yet eleven, her fellow sisters witnessed a Host floating above Imelda’s head. They ran to get a priest who then gave the Host to Imelda. After receiving her first communion, Imelda fell into a state of ecstasy. Later that day, Imelda departed this earthly life and went joyfully to heaven. Blessed Imelda is one of the Churches beautiful incorruptibles and is the patron saint of First Holy Communion.

LH: In a day and age when media and television dominate such a large portion of our society, it's so wonderful to have resources such as "Holy Baby!" to share with our Catholic families! Do you have plans to produce future projects?


DL: Yes, as I have said, at least four more Holy Baby! DVDs are in the works. Family Feast with prayers of the Eucharist and Baby Imelda is already in production. Future Holy Baby! DVDs will offer prayer-based themes of thanksgiving for God’s Creation, His covenant with Humans and finally the Communion of Saints.

LH: Dede, thank you so much for your time and for sharing this wonderful product! Are there any closing thoughts or comments you'd like to share with our readers?

Wayne and I are so very thankful that God has given us this work to do. We feel so blessed to play a role, albeit very small, in advancing His Kingdom on earth. By exposing very little children to prayer in this way, we hope they will learn that prayer is something that can be done at any time in any place.

Joyfully, we have heard from may parents who say that their children absolutely love Holy Baby! They are requesting it time and again and are choosing Holy Baby! over other more secular videos. They are repeating phrases of the Apostles Creed and the Our Father while they play and parents even report that Holy Baby! calms temper tantrums and helps prepare children for bed. One mother called to say her two-year-old daughter came to the table after watching Holy Baby! and made the Sign of the Cross in English and then again in Spanish. We are amazed and very humbled that God would use us in this way. Thanks be to God!


For more information about "Holy Baby!" visit The Rosary Project or to order the DVD through CatholicMom.com visit Aquinas & More. 

Holy Baby! Seven Prayers In Seven Languages