Princess Maria Luisa baptised in Orthodox rite

January 15, 1933

Only two days old, Princess Maria Luisa of Bulgaria is already an "international figure," reports the New York Times.

Her baptism, according to the rites of the Roman Catholic faith, was scheduled to take place at the end of the week,  as King Boris had promised the Pope before he married Princess Giovanna.   At 10:00 a.m., this morning the princess, named for her paternal grandmother, the late Princess Marie Louise of Bourbon-Parma, was "hurriedly baptized in the Orthodox faith.''

So "great was the haste" that King Boris did not even wait for the arrival of his mother-in-law, Queen Elena of Italy.  She arrived from Rome this evening only to learn that her newest grandchild was baptized in the Orthodox faith.

The ceremony was performed by the Archbishop of Sofia.  The King was present for the ceremony along with members of the Cabinet and "most of the Court."

The infant princess' godfather is Alexander Malinoff, President of the Chamber.

It was never "officially announced" that King Boris would raise his children as Roman Catholics, but it was generally assumed in Italy that he had signed the necessary papers agreeing to the Pope's request for the marriage to be approved.

Queen Giovanna is Roman Catholic.  Her mother, Queen Elena, a Princess of Montenegro, converted from Orthodoxy to Roman Catholicism at the time of her marriage to King Vittorio Emanuele.

The papal representative in Sofia,  Monsignor Roncalli visited the Bulgarian premier Mouchanoff to offer an official protest of the princess' Orthodox baptism.