(LifeSiteNews) – The conjoined twins of Catholic mother Nicole LeBlanc were born, baptized, and confirmed before they died on Tuesday. They were named Maria Therese and Rachel Claire.
May 16th, 2023 Maria Therese and Rachel Clare were born, baptized and confirmed. They lived about an hour and are now enjoying the splendors of The Beatific Vision. To my beautiful Saints in Heaven, pray for us 🕊️❤️ pic.twitter.com/bhb9XNSSHx
— Nicole LeBlanc🇻🇦 (@nicolita_d) May 17, 2023
A native of Detroit, LeBlanc appeared on The John-Henry Westen show in March to discuss her “1 in 100,000 pregnancy,” which she documented on Twitter after learning her babies shared not only one heart, but a set of lungs and other vital organs.
“It’s been a very emotional ride,” she told LifeSite at the time.
LeBlanc, 23, resisted pressure from medical professionals to abort her daughters.
“My husband [Austin] and I firmly said, ‘Absolutely not.’ This is just so impossible to even think about. It’s brutal and it’s the murder of my own children. Why would I do that?”
“When the doctors were telling me about their diagnosis, they were saying, ‘You’re going to miscarry. And if you don’t miscarry, the other option should be for you to terminate, because they’re not expected to live long at all.’”
This is not how I would imagine I would announce this. But I’m pregnant with twins. My twins are conjoined and share 1 heart and vital organs. There is a very high chance of miscarriage and there is nothing that can be done except wait. Please pray for me. #CatholicTwitter pic.twitter.com/JLc3yGDJQw
— Nicole LeBlanc🇻🇦 (@nicolita_d) December 13, 2022
The Catholic Church teaches that baptized babies go straight to heaven.
Babies are doing well! Baby A got a little photo taken and both have some hair growing 🥹 Both are measuring around 2 pounds each and are still breech. Thank you all for the prayers for my little warrior princesses! 💕❤️ pic.twitter.com/VxLhwuyoY1
— Nicole LeBlanc🇻🇦 (@nicolita_d) April 21, 2023
LeBlanc and her siblings, Mia and Dani, have come to be known as the “Duque sisters” on Twitter. Attendees of the Traditional Latin Mass, the bubbly trio regularly comment about the crisis in the Church but also about femininity and the lighter side of the faith. They lost their father, Gonzalo Duque, to cancer in 2014. Nicole eventually took over his business, Duque Hoodliner Productions, which sells car accessories.
The couple is currently accepting donations to cover funeral costs. Click here to help.