CHURCH OF THE VIRGIN MARY VICTORIOUS – HOME OF THE PRAGUE INFANT JESUS

This Lesser Town church which used to be a protestant ornatory was built thank to the German Lutherans in 1611. The building was completed two years later and called by the German protestants the church of the Holy Trinity.

Church of the Virgin Mary the Victorious Central

However, the original appearance of the church was completely different from the today´s style. The layout was a longish square and the entrance was at the place of the present altar of the Prague Infant Jesus. There used to be an altar with a stone group of statues displaying The Last Supper at the east wall. Above the altar a beautiful painting of the Holy Trinity used to hang. The rostrum was close to the altar, at the entrance there was a baptistery made of red marble which can still be found in the church today. In the period after the battle of Bílá Hora the church had to be closed and sealed after receipt of the Imperial order. The Emperor Ferdinand II. presented the oratory to the monks from the order of the barefoot Carmelites two years later.

PRAGUE 1 MONUMENTS CENTRAL

The origin of the Infant Jesus
This order was very hard, the monks lived only from the alms a they often had nothing to eat. At the times of the greatest misery and poverty they got the tiny statue of the Infant Jesus from Polyxena von Lobkowitz who said she was giving her most precious thing to them and she suggested them to adore the statue for they would never suffer from famine again. The Infant Jesus was displayed in the monastery oratory and every day the monks spent two hours praying in front of him. The prayers were responded soon.

As soon as the Emperor heard about the misery of the monks he commanded to pay money and supply food to them. The prayers and pleas for the Infant Jesus brought also rich crop to the monastery, especially in the vineyards. In 1630 the Carmelites were tranferred to Germany and nobody looked after the Infant Jesus who was still displayed in the monastery. The Lutherans broke his little arms off and threw the Infant Jesus into the rubbish behind the altar. The wax statue layed several years there and then it was recollected. During the seven years when the Infant Jesus was covered in rubbish the monastery experienced numerous unhapiness – deseases nad misery. After his collecting the Carmelitans started to pray to him and adore him in hope that he would save them again so the Father Cyrillus got the little arms of the Infant Jesus made. In 1655 the statue was festively crowned by the Prague bishop.

The Infant Jesus
The statue of the Infant Jesus in his early age is 47 cm tall and dressed in a flyaway dress and his fine face is framed by longer curly hair. The wax is very fragile so the statue is set in a silver case under the clothes as a protection against its damage. The Infant Jesus changes his dresses according to the colors of the given liturgical period. The following basic colors are used – white, violet,. green and red. During the coronation parade the Infant Jesus usually wears a royal dress with ermine cloak.

Church of the Virgin Mary the Victorious
The church is a partly Renaissance, partly Neo-Baroque building. The face above the entrance is decorated by the statue of Our Lady with the Child. The tower was completed in 1669. There used to be the monastery of the Carmelites neighbouring on the south side which is nowadays the residence of the Ministry of education, youth and sports. The monastery was cancelled due to the reforms of the Emperor Joseph II., however the church remained the center of adoration of the Infant Jesus.

PRAGUE MONUMENTS CENTRAL

Thousands of people from all over the world keep heading for the church to ask the Infant Jesus for help, recovery or birth of a child.. Others come back to thank the Infant Jesus for fulfilling their pleas. The Infant Jesus blesses with his right hand and holds the Earth globe with a cross in his left hand as a sign that the whole world lies in his hand.

Address:
Karmelitská 382/14
11800 Praha

Connection:

Two tram stops with (12, 20 or 22) from the metro station Malostranská to the tram station Hellichova (3 minutes). The tram station is located directly in front of the church.

Three tram stops (22) from the metro station Národní třída to Hellichova station (5 minutes). Walk another 150 metres in the travel direction of the tram.

Four tram stops (12 or 20) from the metro station Anděl to Hellichova station (6 minutes). Walk another 150 metres in the travel direction of the tram.

GPS: Loc: 50°5’8.368″N, 14°24’12.362″E

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