By Leonard Teel

“And who is Baby Jesus?”

“Charlie is Baby Jesus!”

Charlie, who at seven years old got the leading role in the nativity play at the Village of Saint Joseph sat among the other children near the lighted Christmas tree.

Charlie picked up a gift wrapped in red with his name on it. He patted it. He shook it. “I think I know. It’s a game.”

Charlie is one of 34 boys and girls who live all year at the Village, 2969 Butner Road SW, Atlanta. It is a private, nonprofit child care institution established to serve dependent and neglected children with problems.

The Village is one of the Catholic agencies which depends for its support upon the collection taken at the Christmas Masses.

The children who live at the Village usually go home to their families for a few days at Christmas. Under a new program, they will be allowed to visit various families during the year, Sister Theresa Termini, the director, said.

This month the children were active preparing for Christmas.

Tony, 12, wrote the script for the nativity play. Tony chose Charlie as the Baby Jesus partly because Charlie is one of the smallest boys. “I don’t know,” Tony explained, “it’s just something about Charlie that I like.” Tony said he planned to have the shepherds wear bathrobes, the angels robes and “Charlie is just going to have some burlap over him.”

Some of the older boys—there are 20 boys and 14 girls on the campus—brought in pine branches from the woods on the 43-acre property. At the girl’s cottage, Sister Catherine Matter put a garland of pine on the door and sprayed it with instant snow.

Last Sunday afternoon, some of the boys sat on the sofas near the tree and the gifts in Charlie’s cottage and talked about Christmas.

“When are we going to open them, anyway?” asked an 8-year-old with a clip-on tie.

Sister Thomas Geraldine Cody who bought the presents for the 13 children in her cottage, said they could open their packages at the Christmas party before they went home.

“That’s Thursday,” she said, “and Friday—Friday we go home for Christmas.”

“Yee-hooo,” said Charlie, who has prominent brown eyes. “Can we take our present home?” He clapped his hands.

They started talking about Tony’s Christmas pageant and one boy began singing “O Come All Ye Faithful.”

“What a broke record!” said another boy across from him.

Kevin, 8 1/2, will be an angel, one of four. “We go barefooted!”

“Barefooted? You’ll catch pneumonia,” said Philip, 8 1/2, who will be the drummer boy.

“the Roman King—he wanted everyone to be taxed,” said Gregory, nine, describing the story of Tony’s Play.

“And some shepherds will see great blinding light…and they became afraid.

“And then, four angels—Kevin, Todd, Meredith and Mary—say don’t be afraid, it’s good news—in Bethlehem in this stable a savior is born.”

“And who presents the gifts to the Baby Jesus?” asked Sister Thomas Geraldine.

“Me, Frankie and Zoe,” said Gregory, a wise man.

“And who is Baby Jesus?” Sister Thomas Geraldine asked.

“Charlie is Baby Jesus.”

Tony, whose soprano voice has already won him one award, sings “O Holy Night.”

“I just like for the people to know,” Tony explained, “the meaning of Christmas—how the baby Jesus was born.”