Italy – United States

Images of both the Infant Jesus and the baby Mary were popular objects of veneration throughout Europe during the eighteenth century. In Milan, Italy, there is an image of Mary, made of wax, known as the Maria Bambina. 

The life-size, realistic image was made about 1735 by a Poor Clare nun in Todi and brought to Milan in 1738 by Bishop Alberico Simonetta. After his death the image was give to the Capuchin sisters. In 1810, during the reign of Emperor Joseph II, religious orders were suppressed, but the little image was kept safe by one of the sisters. It was eventually passed to the pastor of St. Marco Church who gave it to the Sisters of Charity of Lovere, who took it with them when they assumed the direction of the Ciceri Hospital in 1842. In 1876, it was moved to its current location at the sisters’ motherhouse where it was placed in the novitiate. 

During the octave of the Nativity of Mary, the baby was moved to the chapel in celebration of the feast. With the passage of time, the image had become dirty and discolored, so eventually it was taken from the novitiate and put away in storage. It was brought out for veneration only during the octave.

On the feast of the Nativity in September of 1884, one of the sisters begged the superior to bring the little image of Maria Bambina to the infirmary and let it remain with her during the night. On the following morning, the superior was inspired to take the image around to the other sick sisters. A devout novice took the little Bambina in her arms and begged her for the return of her health. Immediately, she was miraculously cured of a crippling paralysis. Two of the other sisters in the infirmary were also cured.

In October, the statue was given new clothing and placed in a beautiful cradle in a temporary chapel. Only the face is seen; she is wrapped in “swaddling,” in the style of the Middle Ages. Infants were wrapped in swaddling clothes and bound tightly to ensure that their limbs grew straight.

The sisters began to venerate the image and request favors, and the Bambina began to answer their pleas. By January of the following year, an amazing and inexplicable transformation began to occur. The faded gray complexion of the image slowly changed to warm flesh tones which made the statue seem almost alive and gave it the appearance of a living baby. Soon, people from the city heard of the miracle and they began to come to venerate the miraculous image. A new chapel, open to the public, was dedicated in 1888.

Maria Bambina was solemnly crowned by Cardinal Ferrari in 1904, and in 1909 the devotion was enriched with indulgences by St. Pope Pius X.

As the devotion began to spread throughout Italy, an archconfraternity and a League of the Innocent were formed. A small wax copy of the image became a popular wedding gift. The small images are still made today, although few of the younger sisters know the ancient art of working in wax. 

The shrine and the motherhouse were destroyed by bombing during World War II, but the image had been taken to safety. It remained in the temporary motherhouse of the sisters until the new motherhouse and shrine were built in 1953. Annually on September 8, the sisters touch small pieces of cotton to the image which are distributed as sacramentals. Today, numerous supplicants come to bring their petitions to her. Young couples who want the gift of a child are among the most fervent of her devotees. Many return, holding their newborns, to thank her for prayers answered. 

Devotion to Maria Bambina has spread throughout the world. 

For many years, an image of Maria Bambina was on display in a niche in the altar of the crypt of St. Anne’s Church in Jerusalem. Although a small chapel was built over the grotto during the second century, the first church was built there in the last part of the 5th century and is the fifth Christian church built in Jerusalem. It was destroyed in the 11th century, and the current church was rebuilt in the 12th century by the crusaders. In 1192 Salah Ed Din turned this new church into a madrasah (school of Koranic law) and thereby it repeatedly escaped destruction. However, it was not until 1856 that it became a Christian shrine again. In gratitude for the help given Turkey by the French Government, Sultan Abdoul Majid presented the church to the Emperor Napoleon III. Since 1878, the Missionaries of Africa have been the guardian of this shrine, which tradition holds marks the spot of the Virgin’s birth. The cave was initially marked off by the Crusaders who followed the Eastern tradition that Mary was born in Jerusalem near the pool of Bethesda. 

The crypt is reached by descending a broad flight of steps to a tiny chapel with a domed ceiling. Here there is an altar dedicated to the birth of Our Lady. The setting for the altar is about 6 feet square. Above the altar stands a small statue of Mary, and paintings of Sts. Anne and Joachim flank it on either side. An image of the infant Mary rested in a small recess sculpted from the stone of the altar table. Unfortunately, at one time the original image was refurbished and the job was poorly done so the image was removed. One of the congregations of Sisters of the Infant Jesus offered a replacement wax image, but this was later moved to the chapel of the Italian hospital in Nazareth. 

Although the devotion is still little known in the United States, that may be changing. Among her other advocations, Maria Bambina is seen by many as a wonderful advocate for the respect for life.

Sister Mary Lawrence Scanlan, a member of the Franciscan Sisters of Allegany, has always had a strong devotion to the childhood of Mary. In the late 1950s she was appointed vocation director of her Order and was inspired to write a little chaplet in the virgin’s honor called the Garland of the Holy Child Mary. In the late 1950s, her Community began to disseminate leaflets of the Garland for the intention of obtaining vocations to the priesthood and the religious life. 

Sister Mary Lawrence was delighted when her long-time friend Fr. Benedict Ballou, OFM brought her a replica of the Maria Bambina of Milan from Italy. The beautiful image was placed in the novitiate where it remained for many years. The chaplet spread to many of the laity who came in contact with the sisters. Devotion to the image of the Bambina, however, remained with the novices of the congregation. Once, however, they loaned their little Bambina to the Cloistered Dominicans whose monastery was near their hospital in Camden, New Jersey. The nuns had asked to borrow it for their celebration of the feast in honor of Mary’s birthday. When the novitiate was moved from the motherhouse, the little image remained for a time in the room of the novice mistress. On her death, it was placed in the archives of the Congregation for a number of years. Today, the image is venerated in the Sacred Heart Oratory.

Another who has a deep devotion to the baby Mary is Father Donald Noiseux. Nearly twenty five years ago, in preparing to enter the seminary, he had to obtain his baptismal records from the parish of his childhood, the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Seeing the words on the certificate, he began to contemplate the mystery of Our Lady’s nativity. Through the years, his devotion to this mystery grew.

In the summer of 2001, a priest friend of his, Fr. Charles DiMascola obtained a small replica of Maria Bambina made by one of the sisters from the Convent of Maria Bambina in Milan, Italy, to display at his parish of Our Lady of Czestochowa in Turners Falls, MA. Fr. Charles obtained the replica through an inquiry to an internet site. Father Donald was surprised to hear of his friend’s acquisition since a friend from his home town, Elaine Partyka, had tried for years to obtain such an image and had been unable to do so. Elaine is the one who had first introduced Father Donald to the devotion to Maria Bambina. Fr. Donald immediately called the man who had provided Fr. Charles with the small replica. The man did not have another small replica; Fr. Charles had obtained the only image available in that size. However, a single full size replica was available. An exquisite copy, it was very expensive.

Fortunately, at this time, he and his sister had just sold a piece of property which they had inherited. Although the obstacle of where to obtain the funds was removed, he still hesitated. 

Before he had known of the opportunity to acquire the replica of Maria Bambina, Fr. Donald had made arrangements to go on pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Hope in Pontmain, France. He decided that while he was there, he would ask the Blessed Mother in prayer to help him discern if he should obtain the image. At the shrine, he was amazed to find an image of the Milan Maria Bambina in a side altar of the parish church. Over the years he had visited many famous shrines to Our Lady and dozens of churches in Europe. This was the first time that he recalled seeing Maria Bambina. He took this as a definite sign that he should not hesitate to purchase the replica for his parish.

Back home, Fr. Donald hastened to obtain the image. When his friend Fr. Charles saw it, he suggested that it was so fine that it would attract pilgrims. Fr. Charles had been an art teacher before entering the seminary and suggested that a fitting reliquary be constructed for the beautiful image. He designed the reliquary and one of his parishioners, Larry Roux, built it, adding his own embellishments to Father Charles’ design. 

At the same time as preparations were being made for the Maria Bambina to be placed in the church, Father Donald’s niece gave birth to twin boys 3 months prematurely. For weeks the babies were in precarious health. His sister had the babies’ names, Alan and Geoffrey, engraved on small gold hearts which she placed in the Bambina’s crib. The entire family prayed to Maria Bambina that the babies would be healthy. The boys continued to make good progress and continue to do well. The family credits Maria Bambina's intercession in the granting of this favor.

Father Donald began to feel that he should do something to spread the devotion to Maria Bambina. He asked a parishioner, Marge Craven, to put together a website where people could learn more about the mystery of the nativity of Mary. Devotion to that mystery is a traditional Franciscan devotion, so Marge, who is a third order Franciscan, eagerly set to work to put up the site. She spent months of study and research to get the information shown on www.mariabambina.org. Response to the site has been interesting. With no advertising or promotion the site has received “hits” from all over the world. Inquiries have come from as far as India and Brazil where people there have expressed a desire to spread the devotion in these countries. Many have remarked that they see the devotion as a call to respect the sanctity of life. When people are first shown a holy card or picture of Maria Bambina, the typical response is enthusiasm and surprise as if to say, “Why didn’t I ever think of Our Lady as a baby before?” Sometimes people are more reserved. Never having heard of the devotion and with there being so many unapproved private revelations they wonder if Maria Bambina is consistent with the mind of the Church. Once they are told the devotion is approved and that St. Pope St. Pius X and Pope John Paul II have encouraged it, their initial reserve turns to enthusiasm. 

Although the pictures of her as shown on the internet are lovely, those who want to visit in person are always welcome at Maria Bambina’s beautiful new shrine in Huntington, Massachusetts. The first pilgrimage group came to the shrine in June of 2003.

The Garland of the Holy Child Mary

An act of devotion in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary’s childhood for the intention of obtaining vocations to the priesthood and the religious life.

Holy Virgin Mary, Lily of the Blessed Trinity, honoring your Immaculate Conception, we pray, through the merits of your childhood, that all youth may give glory to God by the purity and holiness of their lives. [Three Hail Mary’s and a Gloria]

Holy Virgin Mary, Morning Star, honoring your birth, we pray, through the merits of your childhood, that parents may foster religious vocations in their children, by their own noble and saintly lives. [Three Hail Mary’s and a Gloria]

Holy Virgin Mary, Cause of our Joy, honoring your sweet name, we pray, through the merits of your childhood for the sanctification of priests and religious. [Three Hail Mary’s and a Gloria.]

Holy Virgin Mary, seat of Wisdom, honoring your Presentation in the Temple, we pray, through the merits of your childhood, for vocations to the priesthood and the religious life. [Three Hail Mary’s and a Gloria]

Let us pray

Holy Virgin Mary, Model of Perfection, through the merits of your childhood, obtain for God’s Church on earth fervent priests and religious and a truly apostolic laity that by their love and devoted service all may be united with Him forever in heaven. Amen. 

Imprimatur: Justin J. McCarthy, Bishop of Camden, March 24, 1958
Although a set of beads was made to use while praying the chaplet, they are not essential to the devotion.