Santo Bambino of Aracoeli
| Santo Bambino di Aracoeli Holy Child of Aracoeli |
|
|---|---|
The copy of the image enshrined within the Basilica.
|
|
| Location | Capitoline Hill |
| Date | Fourteenth century |
| Witness | Franciscan monk Prince Alessandro Torlonia |
| Type | Olive wood |
| Holy See approval |
Pope Leo XIII Pope John Paul II |
| Shrine | Basilica of Santa Maria in Aracoeli (copy) Chiesa di San Giovanni di Baptista (Cori, Lazio) (original) |
The Santo Bambino of Aracoeli sometimes known as Bambino Gesu di Aracoeli (Lit: Holy Jesus of Aracoeli) is a 15th-century Roman Catholic devotional wooden image enshrined in the titular Basilica of Santa Maria in Aracoeli, depicting the Child Jesus swaddled in golden fabric, wearing a crown, and adorned with various gemstones and jewels donated by devotees.
On 18 January 1894, Pope Leo XIII authorised its public devotion and granted a canonical coronation on 2 May 1897. It was again blessed by Pope John Paul II on 8 January 1984. The image was stolen in 1 February 1994, then replaced with a copy while the original statue itself resides in the Church of Saint John the Baptist in Cori, Lazio where it is under secured custody by the Salviati-Borghese clan, who asserts claim of rightful ownership of the image per local tradition dating back to the 18th century.
The wooden image measures approximately 60 centimeters tall and depicts the Child Jesus as an infant. According to historical records preserved at the Basilica Santa Maria in Aracoeli, the image was carved from a single block of olive wood from the Garden of Gethsemani by a Franciscan friar assigned to the Holy Land in the fifteenth century.
Pilgrimages to the images are recorded as early as 1794. In February 1798 the image was seized by French troops but ransomed by Roman aristocrat Serafin Petraca, thus saving it from being burned. It remained in a convent in Trastevere for a little over a year while a new shrine was built.
The Bambino is customarily placed in the crèche at the Basilica at Christmas. In 1838, thieves, ostensibly bending to kiss the made, made off with a considerable part of the jewelry with which he was adorned. During anti-Catholic protests in 1848 Carlo Armellini saved Santo Bambino from arson.
...
Wikipedia