Mary Anne Doe, Requiescat in pace.

I know Almighty God will have mercy on poor little Mary Anne's soul. Let us pray that her mother and father may seek His mercy through conversion, repentence, and confession.

Though the newborn baby's body was found in a dumpster behind the Lancaster YMCA, she is not being tossed away by the local community.

She now has a name, Mary Anne.

And her short life will be honored at a funeral to be held at 1 p.m. Friday at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church, 501 E. Orange St.

"The most vulnerable and fragile human life is filled with dignity and deserves to be rejoiced in," said the Rev. Daniel Mitzel of St. Anthony Church.

Baby Mary Anne's funeral was planned by local people who stepped forward after her body was discovered Sept. 24.

The child's body, inside a tote bag from a state land title association, was found in a dumpster in the 500 block of Market Street. An autopsy showed the child was female and police are waiting the results of further tests.

Dolores Yecker, a lifetime member of St. Anthony and a member of its social justice ministry committee, was touched by the abandoned baby.

She talked with Mitzel, and the church decided to hold the funeral and donate a burial site at its cemetery off Ranck Avenue."When I read about this baby, there was just something about it that I felt so sorry for," she said today.

Yecker named the baby, giving her the first name of the mother of Jesus and the middle name of the mother of Mary. Yecker's own grandmother also had that name.

Blessed Mother, pray for us.

Saint Anne, pray for us.

Mitzel will be joined at the service by the Rev. Stephen Verkouw of Grace Lutheran Church, a North Queen Street church about a block from where the baby's body was found.

Also, the Rev. Kevin Brown of Ray's Temple Community Church of God in Christ and of the Downtown Ministerium will participate. A police chaplain also is expected to participate in the funeral, which will include a graveside service.

Chip Snyder of Charles F. Snyder Funeral Home has volunteered his services and a small white casket for the burial.

Snyder expects local florists will donate flowers. Also, a fund is being established to collect money for a headstone that likely will cost between $500 and $1,000.

In addition to celebrating the life of Baby Mary Anne at the funeral, Mitzel said he will note the challenge to respond to the needs of others in the community.

He hopes the community will embrace the service and that challenge.

"All people of faith are invited, all people of faith and prayer and good will," Mitzel said.

Donations for Baby Mary Anne's headstone may be sent to:

Charles F. Snyder Funeral Home
414 E. King St.
Lancaster, PA 17602

Any funds beyond the cost of the headstone will be donated to a local crisis pregnancy center.