The Statue of the Infant Jesus

The wooden statue that is venerated in the Shrine of Arenzano is a copy of the one preserved in Prague in the Church of St. Maria of Victory. The one of Arenzano is the work of the sculptor brother Domenico Artesani, of the Religious Congregation of the Sons of Immaculate Mary (Pavonian).

The Infant Jesus is dressed in a mantle of red velvet embroidered in gold. It is the liturgical and solemn garment that the Emperor wore in the ceremonies of the Holy Roman Empire. It reminds us, on the one hand, of the scarlet mantle that the soldiers put on his body in the terrible hours of the Passion, on the other, the Priesthood and the Royals which the Son of God came to bring the world and to which he wanted to make us part. For this reason, the cloak is beautiful, open as a sign of welcome.

In the left hand, Jesus holds a golden sphere, banded and surmounted by a cross. It is a sign of the world on which Christ practiced his divine power, in a mysterious providence plan that does not eliminate human freedom, but which leads, however, to the fullness of the Kingdom of God.

Instead of, the right hand, a sign of greatness and divine force, is depicted in the act of blessing with figures crossed to emphasize the union of the natures of Jesus, the divine and the human. But also the union of the other three figures to signify the mystery of the Triune God.

The precious cross on our chest reminds us of the meaning and purpose of his Incarnation and of his becoming a child: to love men and to share every aspect of their existence (except sin) until the ultimate act of giving life to us on the Cross, that united to the Resurrection, becomes glorious and luminous.

The precious crown on his head, a sign of his royal power, was specially shaped for the Coronation of 1924 by the Codevilla of Genoa. The decorative motif, made up of lily flowers symbolizing innocence and candor was added on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Coronation in 1949.

It is a Glorious Infant Jesus! The smile that illuminates his face is a clear proof of his love for men, a call to confidence in him, to listen to his Word of Salvation, which once made the scholars of the Jerusalem Temple reflect and collapsed.

In contemplating, it seems to repeat the words he said to Fr. Cyril in the ecstatic vision: “The more you will honor me, the more I will favor you”.

Infant Jesus in the various garments if His wardrobes

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Devotion to Infant  Jesus »