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
The shrine in which the world-famous statue of the Infant Jesus of Prague is maintained and venerated is located in Karmelitská Street in the Lesser Town of Prague. The church, dedicated to Our Lady of Victory and St. Anthony of Padua, is visited by hundreds of thousands of believers from the Czech Republic and throughout the world every year. At the same time, the church of Our Lady of Victory is a cultural and artistic monument of worldwide importance. It is a part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The exceptionally well-preserved interior is decorated by works by the best Czech artists of the 17th and 18th centuries… More about the church
The Discalced Carmelites are members of a Catholic religious order that follows the tradition of the Old Testament prophets and the early Christian hermits. The name of the order is taken from Mount Carmel in Palestine, connected with the figure of the prophet Elijah. The first brothers, who settled on Mount Carmel around the year 1200, dedicated their church and later the whole order to Our Lady, the Mother of God. The reformed branch of the Discalced Carmelites came into being in Spain in the 16th century thanks to St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross. The order is characterized by the emphasis placed on prayer and the fraternal life