The devotion to the Infant Jesus is a tradition of the Catholic Church for a long time. Many saints have a strong devotion to the Divine Child , notably, St. Therese of the Child Jesus, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Anthony of Padua and St. Teresa of Avila.

The history of the child Jesus started in Prague during the 17th century when the statue of the Infant Jesus was brought into Bohemia (now Czech Republic) and was given to the Discalced Carmelites in Prague. Since then, the statue has remained in Prague and has drawn many devotees worldwide to honor the Holy Child.

The popularity of the Child Jesus grew in the Baroque period in Spain which may have been caused by the visions of St. Teresa of Avila.  A number of sculptures  made in Spain found their way to Prague, made mostly of wax, ivory and bronze and were dressed in garments which reflected the aristocratic style of the period.

It is speculated that that the statue came from a monastery in Bohemia and from there was obtained by Dona Isabella Manrique  who gave it as a wedding gift to her daughter Marie Manrique who married a Czech noble. The statue was again given to Polyxena , Marie’s daughter as a wedding gift in 1587. In 1628, Lady Polyxena presented the statue  to the Carmelites  at the Church of the Virgin Mary the Victorious  in Mala Strana saying, ” I am giving you the most esteem of my possessions. Keep the sculpture in reference and you will be well off”. This statue then became known as the Infant Jesus of Prague. It stands 47 cm. high and has a long gown around the wax body.

Shortly after 1628, the Saxons and the Swedes  took turns to invade Prague  and the Carmelites had to flee and the veneration of the Holy Infant ceased.  It was not until 1638 that a young priest named Fr. P. Cyril, a Matre Dei, returned to Prague and found the Holy Infant statue  buried in the ruins  of the Lady of Victory church. Fr. Cyril cleaned the statue and placed it in the oratory for worship. While he was praying  before the Infant Jesus, he heard the Infant Jesus say, “Have pity on Me and I will have pity on you. Give Me My hands and I will give you peace. The more you honor Me, the more I will bless you”.

The repairing of the statue’s hand was a miracle since Fr.Cril and his peers did not have the financial resources nor the know-how to repair it. Through prayer, Fr. Cyril asked the Blessed Virgin Mary in several occassions to provide the necessary funds for fixing  the Infant statue. The Divine Infant spoke to him again, “Place me near the entrance of the sacristy and you will receive aid”. Fr. Cyril then did what he was told and in a few day’s time, the statue was fixed by a man who came to the sacristy to offer help.

Since the statue was fixed , a number of miracles had occurred and the word began to spread, resulting in a large increase of veneration to the Holy Child.

In 1641, an altar was built for the Infant Jesus in the church, and in 1644 a chapel eas built, but was not completed until 1654. Many nobles of the time  had greatly supported the Infant Jesus, among them were Lady Polyxena, King Ferdinand (Czech). King Charles Gustav (Sweden), and Bernard Ignatius of the Lords of Martinic. It is interesting to note that the crown over the Divine Infant’s head came from Bernard Ignatius, who presented the Infant statue with a little gold crown set with precious stones and jewels on January 14, 1651 during a procession that carried the Infant Jesus statue from the Lady of Victory church to other Prague churches. The Infant Jesus was solemnly coronated on April 4, 165 by the Archbishop Josef Corta acting for Cardinal Harrach III who was sick.

After that period, Prague went through more wars and unrest  but the church and the Infant Jesus chapel was miraculously protected. In 1776, the altar was rebuilt using marble and two huge scultures of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Joseph were placed  on the left and right sides of the altar. The Holy Infant was kept in a glass case standing on a pedestal engraved with crystals, surrounding the Infant were twenty angels in gold.

Since then copies of the Infant Jesus were made and distributed in many European churches. The Spanish colonial efforts later brought the Infant Jesus to the Philippines and to central America. And since then, the devotion has kept spreading to all parts of the world.