Moving on in our tour of our church, we might notice that in the southeast corner of the nave is a small statue of the Infant of Prague. The infant king is dressed in royal robes and crowned in kingly splendor. He has one hand raised in blessing. In the other hand He holds a globe, symbolizing His eternal sovereignty.
The original statue of the Infant of Prague is located in the church of Our Lady of Victory in the city of Prague. This wax figure, about 19 inches tall, is dressed in garments a royal child might wear. In the early 1600’s this statue was given to the Carmelites of Prague by a Spanish princess, who said in her presentation, “I hereby give you what I prize most highly in the world. As long as you venerate this image you will not be in want.”
Over the years her words have been proven true countless times. When the Carmelites showed faithful devotion to the infant, they were blessed. However, in 1631 the Swedes conquered and plundered the monastery and threw the statue behind the altar. Both of its hands were broken off at the time. For seven years the statue was forgotten there in a pile of rubbish, and the Carmelite community and the city suffered. Finally, however, the statue was remembered and its hands were replaced. In 1642 a special chapel for the Divine Infant was built, and it was dedicated on the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus. Since then many people from all over the world have shown devotion to the Infant Jesus of Prague, and many favors have been granted by the Child.
Numerous saints have been especially devoted to the Child Jesus, whether He was know as the Infant of Prague or Santo Bambino or as any of the many names He has been given.
All throughout her young life (she died at age 24), Thérèse of Lisieux had a special love for the Child Jesus. She painted pictures of Him and asked Him to consider her “His little plaything.” She wrote, “I told Him not to use me as a valuable toy children are content to look at but dare not touch but to use me like a little ball of no value which He could throw on the ground, push with His foot, pierce, leave in a corner, or press to His Heart if it pleased Him; in a word, I wanted to amuse little Jesus, to give Him pleasure; I wanted to give myself up to His childish whims. He heard my prayer.”
Another Saint Teresa also had a special devotion to the Child Jesus. St. Teresa of Avila had such a tender love for Him that one special day He chose to visit her while she was walking up the stairs in her convent. He asked her, “Who are you?” She replied, “I am Teresa of Jesus, and who are you?” The beautiful Child said, “I am Jesus of Teresa.”
This experience was so moving to Teresa that from then on she always brought a statue of the Child Jesus to every new house/convent she founded (18 of them) and decorated a chapel in His honor. Each statue was dressed differently, and each was given a special name. St. Teresa played a viola, and she loved to compose songs and then play and sing to the Child.
We already know how much St. Anthony of Padua and the Infant Jesus loved each other. Another great Franciscan also held the Baby Jesus in great affection. St. Francis of Assisi's mother, a wealthy woman, believed that the son she was about to give birth to was destined to serve God in a special way, so she chose to have him in a place similar to the birthplace of Jesus. She gave birth to Francis in a barn, in humble surroundings with the warmth of animals around them. Throughout his life then Francis loved Christmas and often contemplated the holy birth of the Baby Saviour. It was Francis who originated the tradition of the church. In 1223 he and his fellow friars recreated the original Nativity with manger and cattle and donkeys. The faithful in the area came and saw these poor surroundings, and their love for the Infant grew. A church was eventually built on that spot, and from then on Christians have recalled the miraculous, holy birth of their Saviour by displaying manger scenes.
Many people from all over the world, Catholics and non-Catholics, watch and listen to EWTN, the network Mother Angelica founded, but perhaps some do not know that Mother Angelica, too, has long been devoted to the Child Jesus. One special day in 1995 the Divine Child spoke to her. She was visiting Bogota, Columbia, to encourage South Americans to view EWTN and help to make Spanish language programs for it. While there she was taken to tour the Shrine of Divino Nino. She was surprised to discover that the priest who had led the effort to build the shrine was Father John Rizzo. (John Rizzo was Mother’s father’s name!) She was even more surprised when the beautiful statue of Divino Nino turned towards her and said, “Build me a Temple and I will help those who help you.” What did Mother do? Let’s read Mother Angelica’s words taken from Come and See: A Pilgrim’s Picture Book: “It’s unbelievable to me that, when Our dear Lord asked for a Temple, and said He would take care of those who helped us, I never in my wildest dreams thought it would be so beautiful...At every turn He would change it. It got bigger and bigger, and more beautiful. We were going to put just ordinary floor tile in the Church; He guided us to put in marble. In every possible way He intercepted some or our ideas, and we could see what He wanted. And so this is truly a Church that God has built– a real Temple, a place where the people can go and rest their souls, renew their faith, and give themselves and opportunity to receive the graces and the peace, the forgiveness and the mercy that only God can give.
“The statue of Divino Nino, the Divine Child Jesus, at the side Altar is the Child Jesus interceding for all of us. The statue outside in the Piazza is a big monument, the Divine Child Jesus inviting us to accept His love and His Heart, and to carry with us and within us the Childhood of Jesus. For the Lord said, ‘Unless you become as little children, you shall not enter the kingdom of Heaven.’ And in Isaiah it gives us a good example of what God expects to do in this world in this life: it says ‘... and a little Child shall lead them.’ May we all be led by the Divino Nino Jesus.”
The Child Jesus, whether known as the Infant of Prague or Divino Nino or Santo Bambino (as Padre Pio called Him) or...How sweet it would be to hold Him in our arms. But we might remember the great blessing we do have. Every time we receive Holy Communion we receive Jesus and hold Him, not just in our arms but within us!
