The Church of Our Lady Victorious (Kostel Panny Marie Vítězné) in Malá Strana, the "Lesser Quarter" of Prague is a church governed and administered by the Discalced Carmelites, and home of the famous Child-Jesus statue called the Infant Jesus of Prague.
A chapel dedicated to the Holy Trinity was built on this site in 1584, following Rudolph II´s Letter of Majesty a larger church for German Protestants. With the Battle of White Mountain, 8 November 1620, the Counter-Reformation signalled the re-Catholicism of Prague. The church was given to the direction of the Carmelites in September 1624. The triumphalist altarpiece of Our Lady of Victory was sent from Rome by Pope Gregory XV. The Carmelites were ordered to hand over the church to Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor, 3 June 1784.
On 26 September 2009 Pope Benedict XVI declared the church and the Infant Jesus the first station on the Apostolic Road in the Czech Republic. The Pontiff also donated a gold crown, decorated with eight shells, pearls, and garnet gemstones to the Infant Jesus of Prague, which the statue dons today.
Famous quotes containing the words church of, church, lady and/or victorious:
“I believe with all my heart that the Church of Jesus Christ should be a Church of blurred edges.”
—George Carey (b. 1935)
“In church your grandsire cut his throat;
To do the job too long he tarried:
He should have had my hearty vote
To cut his throat before he married.”
—Jonathan Swift (1667–1745)
“I spoke at a woman’s club in Philadelphia yesterday and a young lady said to me afterwards, “Well, that sounds very nice, but don’t you think it is better to be the power behind the throne?” I answered that I had not had much experience with thrones, but a woman who has been on a throne, and who is now behind it, seems to prefer to be on the throne.”
—Anna Howard Shaw (1847–1919)
“A victorious tomcat is like a tiger; a plucked phoenix is not worth a chicken.”
—Chinese proverb.