Infant Jesus of Prague

History

The exact origin of the Infant Jesus statue is not known, but historical sources point to a small 19 inch (48 cm) high sculpture of the Holy Child with a bird in his right hand presently located in the Cistercian monastery of Santa María de la Valbonna in Asturias, Spain which was carved around the year 1340. Many other Infant Jesus sculptures were also carved by famous masters throughout Europe in the Middle Ages. Often found in early medieval work, the significance of the bird symbolizes either a soul or the Holy Spirit. The sculptures of the Holy Child were dressed in imperial regalia reflecting the aristocratic fashion of that period.

One legend says that a monk in a desolated monastery somewhere between Cordoba and Sevilla had a vision of a little boy, telling him to pray. The monk had spent several hours praying and then he made a figure of the child.

The House of Habsburg began ruling the Kingdom of Bohemia in 1526; the kingdom developed close ties with Spain. The statue first appeared in 1556, when María Manriquez de Lara y Mendoza brought the image to Bohemia upon her marriage to Czech nobleman Vratislav of Pernstyn. An old legend in the Lobkowicz family reports that María's mother, Doña Isabella, had been given the statue by Saint Teresa of Avila herself. María received the family heirloom as a wedding present. It later became the property of her daughter, Polyxena, 1st Princess Lobkowicz (1566–1642). In 1628, Princess Polyxena von Lobkowicz donated the statue to the Discalced Carmelite friars (White Friars).

Upon presenting it, the pious Princess Polyxena is said to have uttered a prophetic statement to the religious:

Venerable Fathers, I bring you my dearest possession. Honour this image and you shall never want.

The statue was placed in the oratory of the monastery of Our Lady of Victory, Prague, where special devotions to Jesus were offered before it twice a day. The Carmelite novices professed their vow of poverty in the presence of the Divine Infant. Upon hearing of the Carmelites' devotions and needs, the Emperor Ferdinand II of the House of Habsburg sent along 2,000 florins and a monthly stipend for their support.

In 1630, the Carmelite novitiate was transferred to Munich. Disturbances in Bohemia due to the Thirty Years War brought an end to the special devotions, and on November 15, 1631, the army of King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden took possession of Bohemia's capital city. The Carmelite friary was plundered and the image of the Infant of Prague was thrown into a pile of rubbish behind the altar. Here it lay forgotten for seven years, its hands broken off, until in 1637 it was found again by Father Cyrillus and placed in the church's oratory. One day, while praying before the statue, Father Cyrillus claimed to have heard a voice say,

Have pity on me, and I will have pity on you. Give me my hands, and I will give you peace. The more you honor me, the more I will bless you.

Since then, the statue has remained in Prague and has drawn many devotees worldwide to honor the Holy Child. Claims of blessings, favors and miraculous healings have been made by many who petitioned before the Infant Jesus.

In 1739, the Carmelites of the Austrian Province formed a special devotion apart from their regular apostolate. In 1741, the statue was moved to the epistle side of the church of Our Lady of Victory in Prague.

The copies of the Infant Jesus of Prague statue have been distributed widely in its history. A similar statue arrived, for example, in the Philippines with Spanish colonial officials and missionaries in the 16th century, where it helped convert Filipino people to Catholicism and is locally called Santo Nino (literally, "holy child"). It is currently housed in a Spanish-style church built in 1739. A procession is held in its honor every year in January, attracting over a million pilgrims, and celebrations lasting over nine days – rituals introduced in 1889. The expressions, accessories and hand posture of Santo Nino de Cebu are similar to the Infant Jesus of Prague, and it is believed that both statues originated from the same European source, with the devotion to Santo Nino starting earlier of the two. The copies of the statue have been worshipped by Spanish speaking Catholic faithfuls in churches around the world.

Copies of the Infant Jesus arrived in Poland in 1680, and has been popular in Polish homes, and Bohemia in general, where copies of the statue are typically placed in glass-enclosed gables. After the start of the Counter-Reformation era of the 17th century, the statue spread among the Christian communities of South Africa, Australia, Caribbean, Thailand and Sri Lanka.

Description

The small statue is a 19-inch (48 cm) high, wooden and coated wax representation of the Infant Jesus. The surface of the wax is quite fragile. In order to protect the fragile wax surface, the bottom half below the waist is enclosed in a silver case.

Since 1788, the statue's raised two fingers have worn two rings, as a thanksgiving gift by a noble Czech family for healing their daughter, along with its golden blond hair. Some earlier records indicate that the original wig was possibly white.

Vestments

Several costly embroidered vestments have been donated by benefactors. Among those donated are those from Empress Maria Theresa and Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria, which are preserved to this day. A notable garment in the collection is an ermine cloak placed on the statue the first Sunday after Easter, which is the anniversary day of the coronation of the statue by the Archbishop of Prague Ernst Adalbert von Harrach on 4 April 1655. In 1713 the clothing began to be changed according to the liturgical norms. Other valuable garments worn by the image are vestments studded with various gemstones, embroidered with gold, and silk fabrics as well as handmade lace customised purposely for the statue.

Devotion

In April 1639, the Swedish army began a siege of the city of Prague. The frightened citizens hurried to the shrine of the Infant Jesus of Prague as services were held day and night at the Church of Our Lady Victorious in the Little Quarter. When the army decided instead to pull out, the grateful residents ascribed this to the miraculous Holy Infant. The tradition of the Infant Jesus procession and the coronation continues to this day. This ceremony is the closing highlight of the annual Feast of the Infant Jesus in Prague.

The Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus is the principal feast of the miraculous Infant.

Many saints have had a particular devotion to the Infant Jesus, such as St. Athanasius, St. Jerome, Bernard of Clairvaux, Francis of Assisi, and Anthony of Padua. The 1984 miniseries Teresa de Jesús (film), shows Saint Teresa of Avila with a statue in a number of scenes. As novice mistress, Therese of the Child Jesus placed the statue in the novitiate at Lisieux, because she knew the many blessings the Divine Child brought to the Carmelite novices in Prague when it was placed in their midst.

Today, numerous Catholic pilgrims pay homage to the Infant of Prague every year. It is one of the major pilgrimage center in central Europe, with the Prague church with the Infant Jesus statue offering regular mass in Czech, Spanish, Italian and German languages. Statuettes of the Infant Jesus are placed inside many Catholic churches, sometimes with the quotation, "The more you honor me, the more I will bless you."

Devotion to the Child of Prague and belief in its power to influence the weather is still strong in many parts of Ireland. A wedding gift of a statue of the Child of Prague is particularly auspicious. It is also common to see the Child Of Prague displayed in the window of houses in some of the older parts of Dublin and the practice of putting it out in the hedge or burying it in the garden as a solicitation for good weather is widespread in areas as far apart as Cork, Dublin, Sligo and Leitrim.

Rituals

Copies of the Infant of Prague statue are venerated in many countries of the Catholic world. In the Church where the original is housed, it is ritually cared for, cleaned and dressed by the sisters of the Carmelites Church, changing the Infant Jesus' clothing to one of the approximately hundred costumes donated by the faithfuls as gift of devotion. The statue has had a dedicated robe for each part of the ecclesiastical calendar. The statue is venerated with the faithful believing that it has powers to give favors to those who pray to the Infant of Prague. Copies of the statue are also venerated in Spanish speaking Catholic faithfuls around the world.

Once every four years, two wooden statues of Infant Jesus made in Prague are sent to various Catholic churches of the world. The Prague church also has a dedicated service that every week ships copies of the statue, cards, religious souvenirs and other items globally to Catholic devotees.

Churches modeled on the Prague church have been founded elsewhere, such as in the United States and Africa, where the devotees sing, dance, preach and shout. The devotional worship of Infant Jesus of Prague is not limited to Prague, and during the 18th century it expanded to churches in Central Europe. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as plaster and metal molding became more affordable, the statues of the Infant of Prague spread rapidly into the homes of early modern Europe.

In the Iberian peninsula, among communities of Portugal and Spain, copies of the infant Jesus of Prague are popular, though known with different names, such as Menino Deus (literally, "boy god"). In Italy, a statue similar to it is called Santo Bambino (literally, "holy child"), and ritually revered during the Christmas season such as at the Basilica of Santa Maria in Ara Coeli in Rome. The copy of the Infant of Prague in Philippines is anointed with oil by its devotees. In Ireland, the statue is popular and is called "Child of Prague". Irish brides hoping for good luck and good weather on the wedding day ritually place a copy of the statue outside their homes. In Irish history, the Catholic devotional worship to the "Child of Prague" soared during famines and epidemics. The statues of Infant of Prague have been consecrated in churches of the United States, in states such as in Oklahoma, Connecticut and Michigan bearing the same title.

Pontifical approbations