This collection of quotes is being compiled by Lo Snöfall

21 June 2016

was first installed in 1410, making it the third-oldest astronomical clock in the world and the oldest one still operating.


Infant Jesus of Prague
(The Infant Jesus has two crowns and about forty-six robes.
His vestments are traditionally changed about ten times a year according to the liturgical season.
Green - Ordinary Time
Purple - Lent, Candlemas and Advent
Red or gold - Christmas and Easter
Royal blue - Immaculate Conception / Feast of Assumption)

"... on November 15, 1631, the army of King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden took possession of Bohemia's capital city.
The Carmelite friary was plundered and the image of the Infant of Prague was thrown into a pile of rubbish behind the altar.
Here it lay forgotten, its hands broken off, for seven years..."

"

"The exact origin of the Infant Jesus statue is not known, but historical sources point to a small 19 inch (48 cm) high sculpture of the Holy Child with a bird in his right hand presently located in the Cistercian monastery of Santa María de la Valbonna in Asturias, Spain which was carved around the year 1340. Many other Infant Jesus sculptures were also carved by famous masters throughout Europe in the Middle Ages. Often found in early medieval work, the significance of the bird symbolizes either a soul or the Holy Spirit...

...The right hand of the statue is raised in a gesture of blessing, with two fingers raised symbolizing the two natures of Jesus Christ and the three folded fingers represent the Holy Trinity."

"The Church of Our Lady Victorious (Kostel Panny Marie Vítězné) in Malá Strana, the "Lesser Quarter" of Prague is a church governed and administered by the Discalced Carmelites, and home of the famous Child Jesus statue..."

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