Baby boy abandoned in Nativity scene has emotional reunion with birth family

A baby boy who was laid in a manger and left in a church navivity scene 44 years ago has enjoyed an "amazing" reunion with his natural "birth" siblings.

DJ Williams  became known as The Manger Baby after stunned parishioners discovered him wrapped in a blanket and crying in a Catholic church in Texas in 1971. He had been placed in the Christmas crib in St Anne's Church, Houston.

Although he was adopted by a loving family, he always wanted to find his birth parents.

Now ABC 13 is reporting that after an appeal, he has found three half-sisters and a half-brother, who bears a significant resemblance to him. 

He told the Houston Chronicle that although his adoptive family was loving, he never felt he truly belonged. "I felt like an outsider in the family even though I knew they loved me. I felt alone." It was after they died that he decided to try and find his biological family. 

Williams, aged 44, now lives in Maryland, with his partner Mike and their son Zephyr, aged six. After trying for nearly a decade, he eventually found his family through a DNA fingerprint service, Family Tree DNA.

"I had honestly given up hope for the longest time. I just can't believe it," he told ABC 13.

He described the reunion as "amazing" and said although he would never know the story behind his being left in the church, he trusts that his mother did the right thing, knowing that he would be safe.