Church of Our Lady Victorious

The Church of Our Lady Victorious (Kostel Panny Marie Vítězné), also referred as the Shrine of the Infant Jesus of Prague, 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 called the Infant Jesus of Prague. The statue, a 16th-century depiction of infant Jesus holding a globus cruciger, was donated to the Carmelite friars in 1628 by Polyxena, 1st Princess Lobkowicz.

Church of Our Lady Victorious
Church of Our Lady of Victory and of Saint Anthony of Padua
Shrine of the Infant Jesus of Prague
Kostel Panny Marie Vítězné
Church of Our Lady Victorious
Location in Czech Republic
50°05′09″N 14°24′13″E
LocationPrague
CountryCzech Republic
DenominationRoman Catholic
Previous denominationLutheran
Websitewww.pragjesu.cz
History
Former name(s)Church of the Holy Trinity
StatusActive
Founded1584
DedicationOur Lady of Victories
Consecrated8 September 1624
Architecture
Architectural typeChurch
StyleBaroque
Years built1611–1613
Completed1613
Administration
ArchdiocesePrague
Clergy
ArchbishopDominik Duka
PriorPavel Pola
SubpriorVictor Fernandes
RectorAnastasio Roggero
Laity
Organist(s)Drahomíra Matznerová

History

A chapel dedicated to the Holy Trinity was built on this site in 1584, following Rudolph II's Letter of Majesty a larger church for German Protestants. With the Battle of White Mountain, 8 November 1620, the Counter-Reformation signalled the re-Catholicism of Prague. The church was given to the direction of the Carmelites in September 1624. The triumphalist altarpiece of Our Lady of Victory was sent from Rome by Pope Gregory XV. The Carmelites were ordered to hand over the church to Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor, 3 June 1784.

At the request of the Archbishop of Prague Miloslav Vlk, the Discalced Carmelites returned to the church after two hundred years of absence on 2 July 1993. The Carmelite Sisters of the Child Jesus help the Carmelites with the care of the gracious statue and the church. The pilgrimage church is under the parish administration of the Church of St. Thomas in Mala Strana.[1]

Visit of Pope Benedict XVI

On 26 September 2009 Pope Benedict XVI declared the church and the Infant Jesus the first station on the Apostolic Road in the Czech Republic. The Pontiff also donated a gold crown, decorated with eight shells, pearls, and garnet gemstones to the Infant Jesus of Prague, which the statue dons today.

References
  1. "The History of the Church of Our Lady Victorious and the Prague Infant Jesus", Church Website, Prague. Retrieved on 5 August 2015.


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