Divino Niño facts for kids
Quick facts for kids El Divino NiñoDivine Child Jesus |
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| Location | Bogota, Colombia |
| Date | 1940s, 1995 |
| Witness | Father Giovanni Rizzo Rita Antoinette Rizzo (also known as Mother Angelica) |
| Type | Jesus apparition |
| Approval | Approved by Archdiocese of Bogotá Archdiocese of Mobile, Alabama |
| Shrine | Sanctuary of the Divino Niño de Jesus, Bogotá, Colombia Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament, Alabama |
| Patronage | Good luck, healing, blessings |
The Divino Niño, also known as Divine Child Jesus, is a special wooden statue from the 1900s. It shows Jesus as a child and comes from Bogota, Colombia. When it was first bought by Father Giovanni Rizzo, a cross on its back was removed.
This statue is 17 centimeters tall, which is about the length of your hand. It has its arms stretched out wide and wears a pink robe. At the bottom, it says "Yo reinaré" which means "I will reign." This image is very popular in Colombia, especially among Catholics. Many people believe it has special powers for healing and bringing good luck.
How the Devotion Started
The story of the Divino Niño and its popularity began with a priest named Father Giovanni Rizzo. He was a Salesian priest from Arenzano, Italy. His bishop sent him to a poor neighborhood in Bogotá, Colombia.
In 1914, Father Rizzo and his fellow Salesian priests were building a new church in Barranquilla, Colombia. They didn't have much money. During this time, Father Rizzo is said to have had a special vision. He saw the child Jesus standing with his arms open. The boy in the vision told him, "Take me with you, I want to accompany you."
The Special Statue
Years later, in 1942, after the church was built, Father Rizzo found a statue of the child Jesus. He saw it in a shop called El Vaticano. An Italian artist had made the statue, and it looked like the child Jesus from Father Rizzo's vision. It even had a cross on its back, just like he had seen.
Father Rizzo asked the shop owner to remove the cross from the statue's back. He also asked for the words "Yo reinaré" (meaning "I will reign") to be carved at the base. He then took the statue to his new church. There, he began to teach people about the blessings the Christ Child gives to those who have faith and help others.
Mother Angelica's Experience
Mother Angelica was the founder of EWTN, a TV network that shares religious messages. She had a strong belief in the child Jesus. In 1995, she traveled to Colombia to help expand her TV network's work in Spanish.
While in Colombia, Mother Angelica met a priest named Padre Juan Pablo Rodriguez. He showed her and her companion sisters the shrine of the Divino Niño. Mother Angelica later said that when she prayed in front of the statue, it came to life and spoke to her. It told her to build a special place where it would bless people who helped her.
In a book about her life, Mother Angelica shared that she had short conversations with the child Jesus. She even saw him in the hallway of her convent. Mother Angelica brought this special devotion back to Alabama. She and her sisters helped spread the devotion there. The version of the child Jesus statue they use sometimes shows him holding a burning heart, which is different from the original statue with outstretched arms in Bogotá. Mother Angelica believed that her TV network's success was due to this devotion.
She also noticed that she shared the same last name as Father John Rizzo, who started the devotion. Mother Angelica's birth name was Rita Antoinette Rizzo.
See also
