Sep 30 – A two hour bus ride took us from charming Karlovy Vary back to the bustle of Prague. We only have one goal this afternoon: to visit the Infant Jesus of Prague at the Church of Our Lady Victorious.
Jim makes it a point to visit sites where miracles occur whenever we travel. The Infant Jesus is a primary pilgrimage site in Czechia. The 19” wood and wax statue is purported to have been owned by St Teresa of Avila, and traveled from Spain to Bohemia (now Czechia) in the mid 1500s.
In 1631 the priory where the Infant was displayed was plundered during the 30 Years War, but was recovered from a trash heap ten years later with its hands broken off. The priest who found it heard a voice that said, “Give me my hands, and I will give you peace. The more you honor me, the more I will bless you.”
The statue was repaired, given new hands, and has been lovingly cared for ever since by the Carmelite nuns here, who dress it in one of 300 outfits to match the colors of every liturgical season. So many favors and miracles have been granted in the name of the Infant Jesus of Prague that they cannot be counted.
