O culto ao Menino Jesus a partir do Santuário Mariano (1707-1723): imagens e devoções

Abstract

The cult of the Infant Jesus spread from Italy to the whole of Western Europe, mostly supported by the Franciscan movement and their devotion to the Nativity scene. The height of this devotion took place in the period of the Counter-Reformation, mostly in female convents, and included the custom of dressing and adorning the images, and then displaying them on the altars of parish churches, shrines of pilgrimage, or domestic oratories. This paper collects and studies the references to this cult in the work Santuário Mariano (1707-1723) by Fr. Agostinho de Santa Maria. It highlights the most notable images of the Holy Child referenced in this text due to their supposed miraculous attributes, as well as the accounts of the devotional practices surrounding them