In our baptistery where infant children are baptized at Saints Peter and Paul Church in Wilmington, we have an image of both the Santo Niño (Child Jesus) and his mother, Our Lady of Guadalupe. One day, an unknown woman walked out with the statue of the Infant Jesus and never to be seen again.

We forever lost a great treasure of this church. That handcrafted statue of the Santo Niño was handmade and hand-carried from the Philippines to find his rightful place at the historic parish of SS. Peter and Paul. We never thought such a thing would ever happen.

But instead of getting angry at the perpetrator, some parishioners took the event as a sign. Years ago, SS. Peter and Paul Parish used to have a great devotion to the Santo Niño, but it slowly vanished as the leaders of the Santo Niño Association, one by one, succumbed to illness and eventually were taken by our Lord.

With this unfortunate event as a catalyst, some members of the parish took it upon themselves to form a SS. Peter and Paul Santo Niño Group (Holy Child Association) whose main aim is to propagate the devotion to the Santo Niño. On Jan. 20, 2007 --- the feast day of the Holy Child --- "the Great Santo Celebration of 2007" was celebrated here, with Auxiliary Bishop Oscar Solis, the first Filipino Bishop in the United States, presiding at Mass.

This year, Very Rev. Hugh Barbour, Prior of St. Michael's Abbey in El Toro, an in-demand preacher and a great devotee of the Santo Niño, presided at the Mass to celebrate the humility of the Christ Child on Jan. 17 at SS. Peter and Paul, the oldest parish in the San Pedro Region (founded in 1865).

But what is the difference between the Santo Niño, the Divine Infant of Prague, Santo Nino de Atocha, Holy Infant of Good Health, and many other depictions of the Infant Jesus? They are all one and the same Jesus. Santo Niño is just one of the many titles used by the Church and the faithful to honor and glorify the divine infancy of Jesus Christ.

The Divine Infant's promise
The more you honor Me, the more I will bless you. This was the promise of the Divine Infant Himself. Love for Him has inspired the faithful to clothe the Babe of Bethlehem in regal robes, so that their faith may be manifested publicly. The Infant is more than worthy of garments "fit for a King."

Devotions to the childhood of Jesus extend back nearly a thousand years. Among the devotees were St. Athanasius, St. Jerome, St. Bernard of Chlairvaux, St. Francis of Assisi and St. Anthony of Padua. And St. Teresa of Avila always traveled with her sculpture of the Infant Jesus as she founded new convents.

In Prague, Czech Republic, there is a statue of the Christ Child known as the "Infant of Prague." The statue originated in Spain, where there was strong devotion to the Child Jesus, and ended up in its present country when it was taken there as a wedding gift given to a Spanish woman upon her marriage to a Czech nobleman. It passed down through that family and was eventually given to the Discaled Carmelites there.

In 1628, the Carmelites had to escape the area when the Saxons, and then the Swedes, attacked. Father Cyril a Matre Dei returned to Prague in 1638 and found the statue lying in what was left of the church, its arms broken. He placed it back in the oratory for veneration and, while praying near it one day, heard the voice of the Infant Jesus say to Him, "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."

Unfortunately, in that war-torn era, the priest didn't have the money to carry out that wish, so he prayed for guidance. He heard the Child Jesus again: "Place Me near the entrance of the sacristy and you will receive aid." And so it happened. Within a few days, a rich man came by and offered to repair the statue.

The statue became known for its association with the miraculous, including healings and, especially, for the protection of the church through many wars that followed. Many benefits are said to come to those who worship Christ under His title of the "Infant of Prague," or the "Santo Niño."

Travels with Magellan
A famous copy of this icon can be seen on the Island of Cebu in the Philippines, where the story of its presence predates its history in Prague. The great Portugese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, sailing for Spain (on what became the first voyage to circumnavigate the globe), arrived on the islands in 1521, two years after first setting sail. He gave a copy of the statue of the Child Jesus to Cebu's king Rajah Humabon's wife, after she converted and took the name Queen Juana upon her baptism in 1521.

Magellan's chaplain, Padre Pedro de Valderrama, converted many of the island's natives --- a move which led to a skirmish between the old and new Christians, and natives from the island of Mactan. The Christian Cebu side lost, Magellan was killed, and his crew eventually completed the voyage and returned to Spain.

In 1565, the Spanish Captain, Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, went to Cebu accompanied by Augustinian Missionaries. They were attacked, defended themselves and, among the ruins of the battle's aftermath, found the statue of the Holy Infant (El Santo Niño) that Magellan had given to Queen Juana four decades earlier. A shrine was built to house the statue, and it later became the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño.

The Holy Infant is especially dear to the Filipino people to this day, and in the first month of the year, there are in His honor great parades, celebrations, and a feast on the third Sunday of January. Devotion to the Holy Child, though, is year-round in the Philippines, and no Filipino home is without an image of El Santo Niño.

The statue is around 18½ inches tall and made of wax, possibly with a wooden inner core. The Christ Child holds a globe surmounted by a Cross, symbolizing His Kingship. His right hand is raised in a blessing, his first two fingers extended to signify His two natures.

The statue was not originally dressed, but was first crowned by Bernard Ignatius in 1651, and was solemnly coronated by the Bishop of Prague in 1655. Now it is always seen not only crowned but dressed in regal, priestly robes (the statue has over 85 different robes, including one sent by Empress Mary Theresa). Since 1788, sometimes two rings adorn the statue's fingers, gifts from a noble family in gratitude for the cure of their daughter.

In Prague, the statue can be seen in the Church of St. Mary the Victorious and St. Anthony of Padua (in the care of the Discalced Carmelites). Replicas can be bought at many different Catholic gift shops, and the image of the Infant of Prague is often represented two-dimensionally in paintings and on Holy Cards.

No matter what you choose to call the Christ Child, He has been enthroned as The Great King of the world to assist those who come to Him. He wishes to attract all hearts to His own through the attractiveness and simplicity of His Divine Infancy. Come, let us adore Him.

Jun Hingco is business administrator at SS. Peter and Paul Church in Wilmington.