Church of Our Lady of Victory - Infant Jesus of Prague
The church of Our Lady of Victory and its adjacent building of the monastery of the Infant Jesus of Prague belonging to the Order of the Discalced Carmelite Brothers lies in one of the oldest parts of the historical centre of Prague – in the Lesser Town. The name of the local monastery originated from the statue of little Jesus that the local Carmelite community received as a present only few years after they settled down here in the first half of the 17th century. Thanks to this precious wax statue the local church became a sought after place of pilgrimage for faithful from the whole world and one of the main pilgrimage sites of the Prague archdiocese. Over two million pilgrims come here annually.
Church of Our Lady of Victory
The church was built during the years 1611-1613. The Discalced Carmelite Order acquired it after the Battle of White Mountain in the year 1620 and on 8th September 1624 they consecrated it to Our Lady of Victory and St. Anthony of Padua.
The church is an important, partly Renaissance, partly early Baroque style, Roman type building. Adjacent to the church on the south side is an extensive monastery, which currently serves as the headquarters of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Physical Education. The monastery was actually abolished in the year 1784 by the order of the Emperor Josef II. At the request of the archbishop of Prague, Cardinal Miloslav Vlk, the Order of the Discalced Carmelite Brothers was able to return in the year 1993. Currently the church and the adjacent vicarage building belong to this Order.
Statue of the Infant Jesus of Prague
The local church became a world famous pilgrimage site primarily thanks to the statue of the Infant Jesus of Prague. The Discalced Carmelites received it as a gift in the year 1628 from the noblewoman Polyxena from Lobkowicz, who received it from her mother – a Spanish Duchess Maria Manrique de Lara. With this gift Polyxena from Lobkowicz fulfilled the wish of the local Carmelites, which was to have a statue or another depiction of Child Jesus in their monastery. This way they wanted to express their deep devotion to incarnation of God and Lord Jesus Christ. Their role model was also St. Teresa of Jesus (the reformer of the Carmelite Order in the 16th century), who always carried Infant Jesus with her when attending establishments of new monasteries.
The statue of Infant Jesus of Prague is 47 cm high and its surface is modeled from coloured wax. From the art-history point of view it is a very rare object illustrating a certain form of contemporary culture in Spain. The Infant Jesus of Prague is the most adored statue of Little Jesus in the whole world.
Similarly to many other Baroque statues, Infant Jesus of Prague is also dressed in various dresses – according to the appropriate liturgical period. The entire wardrobe of the Infant Jesus of Prague amounts to around one hundred dresses that Child Jesus adorers brought as gifts as thanks for hearing their prayers. Among the most valuable ones is the little dress given by the Emperor Ferdinand II or the dress prepared for the statue of Little Jesus by the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria. The entire wardrobe of the Infant Jesus of Prague belongs to the cultural monuments of the Czech Republic.
Pilgrims and the Infant Jesus of Prague
The Infant Jesus of Prague receives visits from pilgrims not only from the near European countries but also from the farther away Ireland, Spain, and even farther Philippines, Latin America countries, India or Africa. We can find copies and iconic places of this little statue in nearly all parts of the world. To many people that prayed to God in front of this statue, it brought miraculous and extraordinary results. People in the local church pray to the Little Jesus for help, healing, peace, some await with belief the birth of a child, and many return to thank Little Jesus here for the favours that they received thanks to their prays to Infant Jesus.
The coronation of Infant Jesus
The coronation feast of the merciful statue of Child Jesus is annually celebrated on the first Sunday in May. The feast has historical origin: in the year 1651 a procession with the miraculous statue of Infant Jesus of Prague around shrines in Prague took place and four years later Infant Jesus was crowned with a golden chaplet – a gift from the highest Count of the Czech Kingdom Bernard Ignác Bořita of Martinice (the country's first man after the Emperor). This was a way of expressing a common faith of the Christian people in the almighty power of God – the King of kings and the Lord of lords.
Discalced Carmelites and Infant Jesus of Prague
The Discalced Carmelite community in the Monastery of Infant Jesus of Prague is currently made up of five brothers from the order. All the members of the community are primarily occupied by taking care of the incoming pilgrims. In addition to this activity they also look after the maintenance and reconstruction of this pilgrimage site. In the area of the church they also have a museum of dresses of the Infant Jesus of Prague and precious sacred objects. A souvenir shop is located in the rear part of the church.
One of the Carmelite Brothers – Father Anastasio Roggero – devotes his time to fundraising for the missionary activity of the order in the Central African Republic.
Further information: www.pragjesu.info/en