Santo Bambino of Aracoeli facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Santo Bambino di Aracœli Holy Child of Aracœli
The image enshrined within the Basilica.
Location	Capitoline Hill
Date	15th century
Witness	Franciscan friar Prince Alessandro Torlonia
Type	Olive wood
Approval	Pope Leo XIII Pope John Paul II
Shrine	Basilica of Santa Maria in Aracoeli

The Santo Bambino of Aracœli ("Holy Child of Aracœli") is a special wooden statue from the 15th century. It is kept in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Aracoeli in Rome, Italy. The statue shows the Child Jesus wrapped in golden cloth. It wears a crown and is decorated with many shiny jewels given by people who love it.

This statue is very important to many people. In 1894, Pope Leo XIII said it was okay for people to show their devotion to it. He also gave it a special blessing in 1897. Later, in 1984, Pope John Paul II blessed it again. The original statue was sadly stolen in 1994. Now, a modern copy is in its place.

History of the Holy Child

The wooden statue is about 60 centimeters tall, which is about two feet. It shows Jesus as a baby. Records from the Basilica Santa Maria in Aracoeli say that a Franciscan friar carved the statue. He made it from a single piece of olive wood from the Garden of Gethsemane. This happened in the 1400s when the friar was in the Holy Land.

People started making special trips to see the statue as early as 1794. In 1798, French soldiers took the statue. But a rich Roman named Serafin Petraca paid money to get it back. This saved it from being burned. The statue stayed in a different church for about a year while a new place was built for it. In 1838, some thieves pretended to kiss the statue. Instead, they stole many of its jewels. In 1848, during some protests, a person named Carlo Armellini saved the Santo Bambino from being set on fire.

Special Traditions and Stories

People in Rome have long believed that the statue can help with healing. One story from the 1800s tells of a very sick person from the noble Torlonia family. The friars were asked to bring the Santo Bambino to the sickbed. They did, and the person got better. After that, Prince Alessandro Torlonia used a special carriage. He would take the statue to visit sick people who could not come to the church. This continued until the early 1900s.

There is another image of Santo Bambino, called the Bambinello, in a church in Cori, Lazio. Some people believe this one might be the original 15th-century statue. They think it was moved there a long time ago to keep it safe from harm.

The statue once had a special sun-shaped pin called a solar brooch. This brooch was later stolen. It was called the "Sun of Justice." You can see it in old pictures of the statue from the 1800s.

In 1927, a man from the British Embassy was very sick. Someone suggested bringing the Bambino to him. Philip Langdon went to get the statue. On his way back, soldiers stopped him because a leader was giving a speech. But when the soldiers heard he was bringing the Bambino to a dying man, they let him pass right away.

Today, the chapel where the Bambino is kept is full of letters. These letters come from all over the world. Some are just addressed to "Il Bambino, Rome." To make space, old letters are removed and burned with incense. They are not opened. A friar who cares for the statue says, "What is in the letters, is a matter between the Bambino and the letter writer and does not concern us."

During Christmas, the Bambino is usually placed in the crèche (a display of the birth of Jesus) at the church. Another old custom was for children aged six to ten to stand on a platform. From there, they would speak to the Bambino. This tradition has mostly been replaced by larger religious parades now.

Official Church Approvals

The high altar of Basilica of Santa Maria in Aracoeli.

The Catholic Church has given special recognition to the Santo Bambino statue.

• On January 18, 1894, Pope Leo XIII officially allowed people to show their devotion to the statue. He also wrote a special prayer for the baby Jesus. On May 2, 1897, Pope Leo XIII gave the statue a special blessing called a canonical coronation.
• Pope Paul VI also mentioned the image in a letter in 1969. This letter was for the World Day of Peace.
• On January 8, 1984, Pope John Paul II gave a special talk. He blessed the statue and its meaning during a special year for children.

The Statue's Theft

The Santo Bambino statue was decorated with many valuable gifts from people. It was usually stored in a safe cabinet at night. But on February 1, 1994, around 4:00 PM, two thieves dressed as workers. They were pretending to be part of a renovation project at the monastery. Some say the thieves searched the friars' rooms and found the cabinet where the statue was kept open. Others say the statue was still on display in the church's Christmas scene.

The police thought it would be hard to get back the gold and jewels taken with the statue. But they also thought the Santo Bambino was too famous to sell easily. The theft made many people in Rome very upset. Some rich people offered to pay money to get it back. But the Franciscans (the friars who care for it) said no. Instead, they decided to have a new copy made. Even the prisoners at the Regina Coeli prison wrote a letter asking for the statue to be returned. When that didn't work, they donated money to help pay for the new copy.

Legends and Miracles

There are some wonderful stories about the Santo Bambino.

• One legend says that the friar carving the statue ran out of paints. An angel then appeared and finished the work for him. When the friar was sailing back to Italy, his ship was caught in a storm and wrecked. But the friar survived. Later, he found the statue washed up on the shore in Livorno.
• Another story tells of Princess Paolina Borghese in 1797. She wanted the statue for herself and had a copy made. When her cousin became very sick, the family asked for the Bambino to be brought. But the princess sent the copy instead. However, at midnight, as the bells rang at Santa Maria in Aracoeli, the real statue miraculously returned to its rightful place. This story became a famous urban legend in Rome.
• People also believe that the lips of the Holy Child statue can change color. They say the lips turn red when a wish or request will come true. If the lips turn white, it means the request will not be granted.

See also

• Infant Jesus of Prague
• Infant Jesus of Mechelen
• Santo Niño de Cebu
• Christ Child
• List of canonically crowned images
• List of statues of Jesus