Madonna has a total of four children. Two are biological by two different fathers and two were adopted at separate times from the African country of Malawi. First born is daughter Lourdes Maria Ciccone Leon (b. October 14, 1996), whose father is Madonna’s former boyfriend, a Cuban actor and personal trainer named Carlos Leon. They were never married. Almost four years later Madonna hooked up with British director Guy Richie and together they had Rocco Ritchie (b. August 11, 2000). Later mom and dad married and then divorced. While still with Richie, though, Madonna adopted her first baby David Banda Mwale Ciccone Ritchie in 2006. After their divorce, Madonna went back to Malawi and adopted a daughter she calls Mercy James. Of course all of her children’s names, like her own, are seeped in religious significance. Lourdes (who is nicknamed Lola) is in reference to Our Lady of Lourdes at the village of Lourdes, France where the Blessed Virgin Mother appeared before a fourteen year old girl in 1858 (today it is a pilgrimage destination for Catholics and a place of purported miraculous healings). Rocco is a name that means “rest†and was famously borne by a 14th century French saint. His mother was barren but after praying to the Virgin Mary for a child, she conceived Rocco (perhaps Rocco Richie’s 42 year old mother also made similar prayers?). David is probably the most important of all the kings of Israel and the one who defeated Goliath. Finally, Mercy is an obvious religious virtue name meaning “rewardsâ€.
