Infant Jesus of Prague

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Monastery of the Infant Jesus of Prague • baby jesus • church • tourist attraction • monasteries • monastery  add tags

Description

The charming statue of the Child Jesus, displayed for people to venerate in the church of Our Lady of Victory in the Lesser Town district of Prague, receives visitors from dozens of countries from all over the world every day. Many people who have prayed to God before the statue have had their prayers answered in miraculous and unusual ways. People come here to pray for help, healing, or peace; some come in trust expecting the birth of a child; and many return to give thanks.

The statue is 47 cm high and made out of wood with the surface modelled in coloured wax. It represents a small child, clothed in a long robe below which his bare feet can be seen. His sweet face attracts visitors through its beauty. The right hand of the Infant Jesus is raised in blessing, while his left hand holds a sphere surmounted by a cross – the whole of our universe rests in his hands. His royal insignia express the faith that all Christians have in common – the faith in the divinity of Jesus. In him almighty God himself, ruler over all things, became a human being.

History of the Infant Jesus of Prague

The Infant Jesus of Prague originally came from Spain. The legend tells that the Infant Jesus appeared miraculously to a certain monk, who modelled the statue based on the appearance of the apparition. According to another legend the statue belonged to St. Teresa of Avila, the founder of the Discalced Carmelites, who was aflame with a great love for the Child Jesus. She is said to have given the statue to a friend of hers, whose daughter was setting out to travel to Prague.

When the Duchess Maria Manrique de Lara came to Bohemia to marry a Bohemian nobleman in 1556, she received the statue from her mother as a wedding gift. When her daughter Polyxena of Lobkowicz was widowed, she gave the precious statue to the monastery of the Discalced Carmelites attached to the church of Our Lady of Victory in 1628.

The Carmelites placed the statue in the novitiate chapel, so that the young monks could learn from the virtues of the Child Jesus. At that time the Thirty Years' War was raging through Europe and even the Infant Jesus was not spared when the Saxon army occupied Prague in 1631. It was only after his return to Prague in 1637 that Father Cyril of the Mother of God, originally from Luxemburg, discovered the statue, abandoned in a corner. To his sorrow, however, he found that the Infant Jesus had had both hands broken off. At this moment it seemed to him that the Infant Jesus was saying to him:

Have mercy on me and I will have mercy on you. Give me hands and I will give you peace. The more you honour me, the more I will bless you.

Eventually Father Cyril had new hands made for the Infant Jesus. The gold coin invested in this was returned many times over, as the Child Jesus began to bless the monastery, the local people, and the whole of Prague. Miraculous healings were attributed to him, as was the protection of Prague when it was laid siege to by the Swedes in 1639. In 1651 the statue was carried as a pilgrim round all the churches in Prague and in 1655 it was solemnly crowned by the Bishop of Prague. This event is still remembered today on the anniversary feast-day, falling on the first Sunday in May.