Since the beginning of May 2021, a copy of the famous, often praised statue of the Infant Jesus of Prague has had its home in the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. It could be said that after more than 300 years, the commemoration of this precious icon is returning to its eventual home.
Legend has it that the Infant Jesus was made by a Spanish monk to whom the Son of God appeared in this form. The statue was brought to the Czech lands in the 16th century by the court lady Marie Manrique de Lara, who married Vratislav II of Pernštejn. (It was for her that Vratislav had the beautiful jewel of Litomyšl Castle built!) Since the family actually stayed in Litomyšl, it is possible to assume that the Baby Jesus was also in the town for several years. The statue came to Prague when the ninth child, Polyxena of Lobkowice, was married as a wedding gift to her daughter. Its fate over the centuries was almost adventurous, including the fact that it was almost lost among the rubbish of a plundered monastery in the 17th century. At the turn of the 19th-20th century, veneration of the Child Jesus miraculously spread throughout the world, most notably in Spain, where the Child Jesus originated. The Spanish and Portuguese took images and statues of the Child Jesus across the Atlantic Ocean to the colonial countries of South America. Thanks to missionaries, colonizers and European immigrants, the Baby Jesus is also known in India, China, the Philippines and North America. Today, the statue is permanently housed in the Church of Our Lady of Victory in Prague's Lesser Town, making it an important world pilgrimage site (Mass is regularly celebrated there in five languages).
The Jesuit is credited with numerous healings and cases of answered prayers, including the rescue of Prague during the siege of the Swedes. It is an interesting custom to give the statue a new dress as a thank you. Empress Maria Theresa did so for the first time and the custom spread over time. Today's collection numbers around three hundred vestments, some of which are used to dress the Jesuit regularly according to the liturgical seasons.
The statuette, located in the Piarist Church of the Finding of the Holy Cross in Litomyšl, was made as one of two copies in 1993 on the occasion of the visit of King Juan Carlos of Spain. He also took one of the copies home as a gift and the other was kept in the depository of the City of Litomyšl for almost thirty years.
When we, as employees of the Castle Hill, were thinking about where to place the statue in the church, several suggestions were made, but none seemed representative enough. It was only when the statue actually arrived that it seemed to have asked for a place that, in truth, seemed to have been made just for the Baby Jesus. It is located in the eastern part of the transept on the altar of the Virgin Mary. Litomysl residents and visitors have the opportunity to light a candle, say a prayer and admire the statue of the powerful intercessor...
More about the Prague Jesuit here www.pragjesu.cz
