Actual Infant Jesus of Prague statue, Our Lady Victorious church, Prague

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The Infant Jesus of Prague has been venerated since the 17^th Century, beginning in Prague, and so many blessings were received by this statue of our Savior Jesus Christ as an Infant, that it began to be called “The Miraculous Infant Jesus of Prague.” (Benedictines)

A wonderful, old handbook of the devotion from the Benedictines (link below) describes that the Statue first came from Spain; Princess Maria Menriquez de Lara of Spain gifted it to her daughter Princess Polyxena, who around 1623 then gifted it to a Carmelite Monastery in Prague that fell on hard times, telling the Carmelites:  “I hereby give you what I prize most highly in this world. As long as you venerate this image you shall not be in want.” Her words were most prophetic because difficult times directly corresponded with a falling away of devotion to the Infant of Prague, for different reasons, including for trouble within the Carmelites due to war. The Statue unfortunately for many years was treated with contempt because of invading armies taking over churches in Prague, but was eventually found in 1637 by one of the original Carmelites who practiced this devotion, but who was moved during war to Germany, Father Cyrillus. He restored devotion to the Statue and once heard these words clearly from the Statue:

The Statue is currently held in Prague at the Church of Our Lady Victorious.

Our Lady Victorious, Prague (Outside) [1st image]; Actual Infant Jesus of Prague Statue, same Church [2nd image]

The handbook of devotion shares that this devotion is after all a devotion to the Sacred Infancy of Christ – who became a helpless baby out of love and mercy for men. I first heard of this Devotion through a group of priests in MA that have a wonderful statue of the Infant Jesus in their Shrine, the Shrine of Divine Mercy in Stockbridge. I speculate that this devotion is so powerful because Devotion to the different parts of our Lord’s life are most powerful when His love is greatest – highest at Calvary, but also high as a helpless baby unable to do anything for Himself.

Divine Mercy Shrine, Stockbridge, MA (statue seen above lectern/ambo to the left)

The Litany to the Infant Jesus is wonderful and we are also able to do a Novena to the Infant Jesus every month to the 25^th, commemorating His birth at Christmas on December 25^th.

An excerpt from the Litany to the Miraculous infant:

From all distrust of Thy infinite goodness, Deliver us, O Jesus
…
From all lukewarmness in Thy veneration, *
From trials and misfortunes, *

An excerpt from the Novena prayers:

5. Eternal Father, I offer to Thy honour and glory, for my own salvation and that of the whole world, the humility, mortification, patience, charity, all the virtues of the Child Jesus; and I thank Thee, and I love Thee, and I bless Thee without end for the ineffable mystery of the incarnation of the Divine Word. Glory be to the Father, Hail Mary, Our Father

O Miraculous Infant Jesus of Prague, have mercy on us

Link to purchase updated version of the handbook, or free PDF available

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Citations

Benedictines, “Devotion to the Infant Jesus of Prague”. Publication date unknown. Accessed online via Notre Dame, https://curate.nd.edu/articles/educational_resource/Devotion_to_the_Infant_Jesus_of_Prague_/24861171 Accessed 1 Mar 2025

Image credits

1 – Infant of Prague: The League of the Miraculous Infant Jesus of Prague at Westmont, Illinois https://infantprague.org/about-the-infant-jesus-of-prague/ Accessed 1 Mar 2025
2 – Our Lady Victorious (outside) – from Prague tourism site prague.eu https://prague.eu/en/objevujte/church-of-our-lady-victorious-church-of-the-infant-jesus-kostel-panny-marie-vitezne/ Accessed 28 Feb 2025
3 – Divine Mercy Shrine – from Divine Mercy Shrine facebook https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1A8rr4n2ru/ Accessed 1 Mar 2025