From the desk of the Tar Heel disciple:
January 2026 (#66)
Devotion to the Infant of Prague:
“The more you honor me, the more I will bless you”
The feast of the Infant of Prague is celebrated on January 14. While this feast day may not be widely known, the image is. There are many images of the Child Jesus that are venerated in the Catholic world, but this 19-inch statue, constructed of wood and wax, is perhaps the most well-known and widely venerated. According to the story, sometime in the early 1600s, the statue was brought from Spain to Prague (Bohemia) by a Spanish princess who had received it as a wedding gift. She, in turn, gifted it to her daughter, who was a benefactress of the Carmelite Fathers in that city, who had fallen on hard times. She gave the statue to the community with the words, “I hereby give you what I prize most highly in this world. As long as you venerate this image you will not be in want.” And for some time, her words proved true as veneration of the image was accompanied by the temporal and spiritual improvement of the of the community.
However, the devastation of the region during the Thirty Years War included the plundering of the same church by Swedish Protestant forces in November 1631. Apparently, the statue of the Child Jesus was thrown into a pile of rubbish behind the high altar, the hands were broken off, and there the statue sat for about seven years, forgotten by all. In 1637, one of the Carmelite Fathers rediscovered the statue and heard the words, “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.” Eventually, the hands were restored and the Divine infant was enshrined in a chapel especially constructed for it. Devotion to the image of the Infant of Prague has continued since then and many miracles and favors have been reported over the years.
Devotion to the infant of Prague and to other images of the Holy Child are theologically founded in the truth of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh in the Child of Bethlehem. A poignant example of the spirituality that emanates from this devotion is found in the life of Saint Therese of Lisieux, whose religious name was Therese of the Child Jesus. Her “little way” emphasized the humility, simplicity, and complete trust of a child in relationship with God the Father.
Images of the Infant of Prague are often dressed in garments whose colors reflect the appropriate liturgical seasons and feasts of the Church. Most recently, Pope Benedict XVI endowed the original statue with a golden crown during his visit, in September 2009, to the Church of Our Lady of Victories, Prague, where the Holy Child is still venerated.
Statues of the Infant of Prague and related devotional material can be found at:
https://inhisname.com/search?options%5Bprefix%5D=last&q=infant+of+prague
