Baby alpaca born at SMW

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - Providence Vincennes, the newest male cria in the family of alpacas at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, was born late Tuesday morning to Providence Providentia (Tia).

White Violet Farm Alpacas, a ministry of the Sisters of Providence, has a herd of more than 60 alpacas at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods.

Providence Vincennes (Vinnie) weighed 13.5 pounds at birth and was born under a River Birch tree in the pasture.

The Sisters of Providence have had a ministerial connection with Vincennes since the Congregation’s founding years dating back to 1840 and the time of Saint Mother Theodore Guerin, the Congregation’s foundress.

A group of students from Indiana State University were at White Violet Center for Eco-Justice Tuesday morning and witnessed the birth. They were doing volunteer work as part of ISU’s annual Donaghy Day.

The annual Donaghy Day event is a day of service set aside for the ISU community to celebrate the season and to work to help beautify the campus and surrounding community.

More than 60 crias have been born at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods since the herd was introduced in1998.