Mercy James Finally Unites With Her New Family
After the confusion yesterday over Where in the World is Chifundo Mercy James?, we learn today that little Miss Mercy has finally been united with her new family in London, England. Madonna and kids made their way to the Kabbalah Centre in London to meet up with her ex-hubby and father of her children, Guy Ritchie, for a little churchin’ … and from beneath one of the umbrella screens a little, tiny hand popped out — belonging to Madonna’s new daughter Mercy James:
It’s the most gentle of gestures – a tiny hand holding tightly onto the jacket of the woman carefully cradling her. This is the first glimpse of pop star Madonna and her new daughter Mercy James – who were united yesterday after the child flew into Britain. Hours after the four-year-old arrived on a flight from Malawi to Heathrow she got a taste of her new life as she joined her family on a trip to London’’s Kabbalah Centre. Hidden beneath a sea of shielding umbrellas Mercy was briefly glimpsed as she joined older sister Lourdes, and brothers David and Rocco at the centre. Even Madonna’s ex-husband Guy Ritchie was at the centre to meet the new arrival, whose adoption he publicly supported. Madonna, 50, had flown into Britain from New York with her three other children hours earlier. It is thought to be the first time that she has seen her new daughter since she travelled to Malawi in April when her adoption bid was initially rejected before being approved this month. Malawian police arranged for the airport terminal in Lilongwe to shut so Mercy and her new nanny Joanne could leave privately on a private six-seater Cessna Citation plane. They headed to Johannesburg on the first leg of their journey. From there the group flew first-class on a night flight to Heathrow, landing at 6.30am. Earlier Mercy was said to be filled with excitement at leaving her temporary home at Kumbali Lodge in Malawi. One member of staff said: “She was running around, singing to herself and telling everyone how she would be flying for the first time.” She said goodbye in her native language, telling staff: “I’m going now, I’m going on a plane, I’m going up to the sky.”
Yay!! At last … Mercy James is at home with her loving family! This union with her family has been a LONG time coming. I have to say, while the cute little story about Mercy “running around” is cute, I find it highly unlikely that anyone who has been allowed in close proximity to her would be talking to the press … no way. Even still, I’m sure the precious little girl was very excited (prolly a wee bit scared) to begin her new life with her new family. Madonna will be hittin’ the road again soon so she’s gonna have her hands full with all those kids plus a new concert tour. Hopefully we’ll be seeing a better picture of Mercy with her mother very soon :)
[Photo credit: Bauer-Griffin; Source]
Tags: Chifundo 'Mercy' James Ciccone, David Banda Mwale Ciccone-Ritchie, Kabbalah Centre - London
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June 21st, 2009 at 9:54 am
A “loving family” who sends a NANNY to go pick up the kid. Sad, sad, sad :(
June 21st, 2009 at 11:10 am
Ya, that was my first thought too! WTF, Madonna couldn’t be bothered to go pick up the child herself. So Mercy could begin this scary journey with her new “mother” and not a nanny? VERY sad :(
June 21st, 2009 at 11:19 am
@Gabi @rhinna — I’m amazed that people can be so short-sighted with matters like this.
June 21st, 2009 at 11:33 am
Why Trent…I agree with them. Sure Mercy will have a better/richer life, but to pretend that Madonna will be the one looking after the dear girl and pretending Madonna will be the one showering the girl with love is a little delusional. If it was my new kid I was adopting and I was a millionaire you’d better believe I’d be the one flying out to pick her up.
June 21st, 2009 at 12:28 pm
I too am in agreement with rhinna.
June 21st, 2009 at 1:02 pm
Sorry, Trent. We all know you’re a huge fan of Madge, but if she really cared about this kid, she would have gone to pick the child up herself. It comes off very cold and indifferent.
June 21st, 2009 at 1:22 pm
I totally agree too. And also, a child of that age would not understand what is going on. Being told she’s going on a plane to live in another country with people she barely knows is not something a small child would embrace with open arms. She would have been confused and scared I’m sure. And then after all of that flying, ending up in unfamiliar surroundings with unfamiliar people, she’s carted off to a Kabbalah meeting? Yeah, that’s close family bonding.
June 21st, 2009 at 2:06 pm
whoa! simmer down rice-a-ronis! judge mutch? listen, she is a single working mom. she has help. what single moms do you know wouldnt use help if they had the resources? my friend adopted a baby from china and the baby flew here to meet her. is my friend an asshole for not going there to get her?
we have no idea how the logistics of getting mercy together with her new family were planned out. why can’t we just be happy and excited for them?
June 21st, 2009 at 3:07 pm
Mercy is such a beautiful baby. I am so happy that she will be given all the tools to be successful in life. THAT’S what we should be focused on. Not the fact that she sent a nanny-who cares?
June 21st, 2009 at 9:57 pm
I’m not convinced that “she will be given the tools to be successful in life” – look at the children of celebrities … and she should have been kept at home for a few weeks to get settled into her family. Being thrown into church life so soon will be so overwhelming.
June 21st, 2009 at 10:15 pm
Mercy had a family Trent, so don’t negate that. She may have been poor , she may not even have been wanted, and not have had everything, but she was born from someone’s stomach. Enough with the glorification of celebrity adoptions and vapidness of celebrity’s supposedly swooping in and “saving” the poor of the world. They pick and choose who they want, and they have a hell of a lot of freedom in the process because of who they are. Furthermore, instead of some publicised evidence that she will be in touch with her own heritage, how her father is, and what he back story really is, we’re getting blind media adoration and Kabbalah. This is a non story.
June 22nd, 2009 at 6:40 am
I’m happy for Mercy. Raised in a loving home is better than being raised in an orphanage any day. Madonna is doing a good thing. People are so quick to judge, it’s really easy when you aren’t living the life.