Widmer Family Welcomes New Heir

[DeJaVu]

[13 August 3073; Ayacucho] The streets of Nueva Lima are alive tonight as the city joins our beloved Duke and his Duchess in celebrating the birth of their son and heir, Antonio. With tears of joy running down his face, Duke Carsten Widmer made a brief appearance earlier this afternoon before the crowd assembled outside of Central West Hospital and held his newborn son aloft. His voice nearly breaking with emotion, the Duke proclaimed three days of festivities and holiday in honor of his son.

"Johanna and I wish to convey our deepest thanks to God, the fine doctors here at Central West and most especially to you, the people of Ayacucho, who have supported us through many long years of disappointment and pain," said the Duke in a brief statement. "Though the Inner Sphere is currently riven with death and conflict, I hope that my son will grow up free and loved among the people of this world which has so graciously accepted my wife and myself."
This birth marks the first time Duchess Johanna has successfully carried a child to term after three previous pregancies ended in miscarriages. The first came mere months after the Duke and Duchess had moved to Ayacucho upon being granted title to the world by Archon Peter Steiner-Davion in September 3067. Political analysts noted at the time that her very human and very public grief over this loss served to endear the Duchess to the people of her new home and the ducal couple were wholeheartedly adopted into the neo-Peruvian culture that saturates this world. Known to her subjects as "La Cantuta," the Duchess became known for her charity work and patronage of native arts, even as she suffered two more miscarriages over the next few years.
During her most recent pregnancy, a small cottage industry dedicated to images of Saint Gerard - patron saint of expectant mothers - developed in the capital city. Many of these images could be found embroidered on large tapestries hung outside homes and businesses, often in conjunction with images of Santa Rosa de Lima, the patron of this predominantly Roman Catholic world. Duchess Johanna took these dual saints as her personal protectors and publicly attributed the continued health of her unborn child to their influence.
Doctors at Central West advise that newborn Antonio is not out of the woods yet, however. "The child, while generally healthy, does exhibit some symptoms that we are keeping an eye on," confirmed Dr. Henry Teodor of the hospital's Post-Natal Care Unit. "We are certain that with proper supervision and care, little Antonio will enjoy a clean bill of health and will be able to go home with his parents in no time at all."