Infant Jesus of Prague
in Prague, CzechiaCategory: Attraction
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Karmelitská 529/7, Malá Strana, 118 00 Praha-Praha 1, Czechia Print route »
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The Infant Jesus of Prague or Child of Prague (Czech: Pražské Jezulátko; Spanish: Niño Jesús de Praga) is a 16th-century Roman Catholic wax-coated wooden statue of child Jesus holding a globus cruciger, located in the Discalced Carmelite Church of Our Lady Victorious in Malá Strana, Prague, Czech Republic. Pious legends state that the statue once belonged to Saint Teresa of Avila.The statue of Infant Jesus is ornate, studded with diamonds and crowned with gold, with his left hand holding a golden orb symbolizing kingship and the right hand raised with the palm in a blessing posture. The statue's clothes are routinely changed by the Carmelite sisters of the church. It is especially venerated during the Christmas season and on May 27 every year on a day of feast and public procession.
Pope Leo XIII approved the devotion to the Infant Jesus of Prague statue in 1896, and instituted a sodality in its favor. On 30 March 1913, Pope Saint Pius X further organised the Confraternity of the Infant Jesus of Prague. Pope Pius XI granted its first Canonical Coronation on 27 September 1924. Pope Benedict XVI crowned the image for the second time during his Apostolic visit to the Czech Republic on 26 September 2009.
Over its history, copies of the Infant of Prague statue have attracted Catholic devotional worship in numerous countries. Outside of the Czech Republic, the statue is particularly popular in Portugal, Spain, Ireland, Poland, Philippines and Latin American countries that were previously colonies of Portugal and Spain.
