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Madeleine McCann

Calling the Christmas angel in the season of miracles


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By —— Bio and Archives December 24, 2007

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Madelaine McCannIt’s Christmas Day 2007 and like all Christmas' that went before and those still to come, it’s the zenith of the Season of Miracles. Innocence everywhere looks for a wish to come true on this night of all nights. Tonight and tomorrow is the time of the believer in many faiths in many countries. Cynics and ridicule can never blow out the flame of the Christmas candle. Believers in a weary, and yes, often cruel world, make room for miracles to happen.
In a dilapidated building in the new neighbourhood where I just moved, a small sign has been there since the first of December. The sign reads, “Don’t forget me on Christmas”. My imagination did somersaults every time I passed the building in the past three weeks. Tonight I ‘ll leave a small gift and go away hoping that the person who put the sign there is not forgotten on Christmas. Some of the wishes hoped for on this night are desperate and heartbreaking; some are not. But surely the anguished public message sent out worldwide to their daughter Madeleine by her heartbroken parents Kate and Gerry McCann is one of the most heartrending. In an emotionally wrenching Christmas appeal recorded at their home in Rothley, Leicestershire, the couple told their daughter, “Our only Christmas wish is for you be back with us again”. Madeleine, 4, vanished from the McCann’s holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, on May 3, seeming to vanish into thin air. The video, which was made available to all broadcasters worldwide, includes three clips of Madeleine filmed last Christmas which have not been seen publicly before. “In one, she is shown excitedly opening a parcel containing the same pink bag she took on holiday in May.” The Independent, Dec. 22, 2007). Any little three year old would feel so grown up to be given her very own pink traveling bag. One can only imagine the bittersweet emotions churned up when parents remember how it was with Maddie there last Christmas. “Sitting in front of the family Christmas tree with his wife by his side, Gerry McCann speaks of how this will be the “hardest Christmas imaginable”. “The couple each discuss the possibility that someone knows what happened t o their daughter, who vanished while they were dining in a restaurant metres away from where Madeleine was sleeping. On their Christmas video, the McCanns are making a direct appeal to that someone who possibly knows how to end their “despair and anguish” at Christmas. In a scene more poignant than any you’ll ever see in a darkened theatre this Christmas, Madeleine’s Mom Kate speaks directly to her missing child in the hopes that she is watching, sending her parents’ love and that of her two-year-old twin siblings Sean and Amelie. With their souls in their eyes, the parents appeal to anyone with information to call a confidential hotline manned by private detectives in Spain—by dialing 00 34 902 300 213—or at least pass the information on to a priest or anyone they can. In the 18-second video, Gerry McCann says: “Since Madeleine was taken from us on May 3, someone knows what happened to her and may well know where she is now. “That person has it within their power to show us the compassion to end this terrible ordeal for us.” Kate McCann then says: “If that person is you, we understand that you may be staying silent because of fear for yourself or through misguided loyalty to other people. “At this time of year, when so many families are coming together we beg you to help us be reunited with Madeleine. Please do the right thing and come forward.” Then in a direct message to her daughter, Kate says: “Madeleine, it’s mummy and daddy here. Just know how much we love you, Madeleine. “We all miss you so much. Sean and Amelie talk about you all the time every day. “We’re doing everything we can, Madeleine, to find you and there are so many good and very kind people helping us. Be brave, sweetheart. “Our only Christmas wish is for you to be back with us again and we’re hoping and praying that this will happen. “Love you, Madeleine.” Believing makes things happen, and in their undying belief, Kate and Gerry McCann give us all something to believe in this Christmas. Somewhere out there on this Christmas, there’s a little girl waiting for a Christmas Angel to come and lead her home. The prayers of so many send the angel on her way in this, The Season of Miracles.



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Judi McLeod is an award-winning journalist with 30 years’ experience in the print media. A former Toronto Sun columnist, she also worked for the Kingston Whig Standard. Her work has appeared on Rush Limbaugh, Newsmax.com, Drudge Report, Foxnews.com.

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