Mangaluru: The annual feast of the Infant Jesus was celebrated at the Infant Jesus Shrine, Carmel Hill, Bikarnakatta with religious fervour and devotion on Monday, January 14.
Thousands of devotees, irrespective of caste, creed and sex thronged the shrine of Infant Jesus and offered prayers to seek his divine intervention.Though the festive high mass was celebrated in the evening, devotees started pouring in the morning itself.
The first Eucharistic celebration of the feast day was offered at 6 AM in Konkani. In order to cater to the needs of the faithful, there were six masses celebrated in the morning and two in the noon. Four of them were in Konkani and one each in English, Kannada and Malayalam.
The Solemn Eucharist at 6 PM was presided over by Bishop Emeritus of Mangalore Diocese Dr. Aloysius Paul D’Souza. Fr. Pius D’Souza OCD preached the homily and many priests from Mangaluru and surrounding parishes concelebrated in the festal mass. There were more than 15,000 people for the evening mass alone.
There were nine masses on each day of the Novena, four in the morning and five in the evening. The largest crowd was present for the 6 PM open-air Konkani mass. Especially on days, when there were special prayers conducted for the Children (day 3) and for the Sick (day 10), the faithful came in great numbers and placed themselves at the feet of the Infant Jesus statue, trusting completely in His mercy and generosity.
History of devotion in Infant Jesus takes us back to the 17th century where the Carmelites in Prague had to stand hostility of the Lutherance. It was then that providence came to their rescue. It was in the year 1628 that the Princess of Spain, Polixena, a great benefactor of the Friars, presented her wedding gift-a beautiful statue of the Infant Jesus to the Prior. However, in the year 1631, the Carmelite monastery was plundered and the statue of the Infant Jesus was cast upon a heap of rubble. Strange but true, years later, a Carmelite priest, Fr. Cyril discovered the statue in a heap of trash. He placed it at a respected place and began to pray. He dedicated a room in the monastery to Infant Jesus and allowed the faithful to go and worship Jesus. Many faithful were healed. This was the humble beginning of the devotion.
The devotion that began in a small way has spread rapidly throughout the world. The genesis of the devotion to the Infant Jesus at Carmel Hill, Mangalore takes us back to some 50 years. The Belgian Carmelite missionaries, who were in Mangalore, began the Novena prayer to Infant Jesus in the small chapel. The present shrine was inaugurated and blessed on 11 January 2006 to accommodate the increasing number of devotees.
Many devotees regularly visit the Infant Jesus Shrine. Every Thursday, thousands of devotees participate in the Eucharistic celebration and Novena services held throughout the day. The Shrine fathers are also available for confessions and counselling to cater to the spiritual needs of the devotees.
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