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The Infant of Prague
- Missionary -

Many of our readers are familiar with the devotion to the Holy Infant of Prague. How many of us, however, see the image of the Little King as a missionary? And yet, the Infant of Prague traveled as the first missionary to the Philippines, today considered one of the most Catholic countries in the world.

Devotion to the Holy Child of Prague is over three and a half centuries old. The little statue was taken from Spain to Bohemia in 1556, and later given to the Carmelites of Prague who, at that time, were living in harsh poverty. The Princess who gave them the little King predicted that as long as they honored Him, they would not want. When the monastery was plundered in 1631 by the forces of the Protestant King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, the image was thrown on the rubbish heap where it was discovered by Father Cyrillus seven years later. In a mystical ecstasy, he heard the statue speak these words: “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!” Startled, the priest noticed for the first time that the statue's hands had been broken off. After much prayer and many hardships, Father Cyrillus was able to have the statue repaired. From that time, prayers begged in front of the image resulted in a veritable shower of heavenly favors. As they spread the Faith, the Carmelites also spread the love of the Little King throughout the world.

In the Philippines, however, the Little King was already there before the first missionaries arrived! It was as if He, himself, came as the first missionary.

The Legazpi-Urdaneta expedition arrived in the Philipines at Cebu on April 27, 1565. On landing, Legazpi’s soldiers made a house-to-house inspection, and in the home of Juan Camus, found a box that held a painted wooden image of the Holy Child Jesus. Like the Little King of Prague, two of the right-hand fingers of the image are raised in blessing; the left hand holds a globe symbolizing the world. The image was taken to a provisional chapel where the Augustinian Fray Andres de Urdaneta said a thanksgiving Mass for the success of the expedition’s mission to Christianize the islands. Today, many believe this Holy Child of Cebu was the image that Magellan gave to the Philippine king Rajah Humabon’s wife when he planted the cross of Spain on Philippine soil.

Today the little missionary King of Prague and of Cebu calls out to us as he did to Father Cyrillus, “Have pity on me. The more you honor me, the more I will bless you.” However, instead of asking us to give Him his own hands, he asks us to give Him our hands, and our hearts, extending them with love to the missions.

Mission Babies

Many of our readers will remember as school children donating pennies and collecting the lovely stamps from the Holy Childhood Association or placing those treasured pennies carefully in the little containers from Operation Rice Bowl.

Bishop Charles Janson of Nancy, France began the Holy Childhood Association over 150 years ago to encourage children to say a short prayer for the missions each day and to donate a penny a month for the suffering children of less fortunate areas of the world. Operation Rice bowl, today the Catholic Relief Services’ official Lenten program, began in 1975 in Allentown, PA as an inter-religious response to a terrible drought in Africa.

In the 1950s, Bishop Fulton Sheen composed a special rosary for the missions. Although the form and prayers are the standard rosary, it was unique in that each decade was a different color to honor the work of the missions in each of the world’s regions: Green – Africa, red – the Western Hemisphere, White – Europe, Blue – the islands in Oceania and yellow – the mission fields of Asia.

In the past, a great deal of emphasis was placed on teaching children the value of Christian charity to the missions. The need for this instruction remains. We should all encourage our children and grandchildren to aid the missions and remember the children in less fortunate areas by giving of their prayers and their worldly goods.

The Church Fathers at the Second Vatican Council pointed out, “Children also have their own apostolic work to do. In their own way, they can be true living witnesses to Christ among their companions.” Pope Saint Pius X predicted “There will be saints among the children.” Commenting on this prophecy by his predecessor, our own Pope John Paul II said, “Now there will be apostles among the children.”