My friend Greg Burke, Rome correspondent for Fox News, has a great little video piece on the famous Bambinello, the small olive wood statue of baby Jesus so venerated in Rome.
It was stolen in 1994 from the church Ara Coeli on one of the peaks of the Capitoline Hill in the heart of Rome.
Please go over a spike Greg’s stats! Leave comments!
Coat of Arms by D Burkart
Loading ...
A Daily Prayer for Priests
Nota bene: I do not answer these numbers or this Skype address. You won't get me "live". I check for messages regularly.
WDTPRS
020 8133 4535
651-447-6265
on Pope Benedict XVI on Corpus Christi processions and a rant from Fr. Z: “The Most Reverend Earl K. Fernandes, ordained and installed as the Bishop of Columbus just 1 year and 8 days…”
on There is hardly anything crueler that a priest can do than to leave people in doubt about the validity of their sacraments. : “Chicken says: I happened on the instruction sheet for community bread bakers that had been left out on a table.…”
on Pope Benedict XVI on Corpus Christi processions and a rant from Fr. Z: “Amen, to your prayer Fr Z!”
on TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED THE 1930’s, 40’s and 50’s: “Born October 1945. First of nine in a twenty-year span. Mom on good days: “Say your prayers.” Mom on other…”
on From “The Private Diary of Bishop F. Atticus McButterpants” – 23-06- 01 – Trinity Sunday: “Instead of a clergy cookout, what does not +Atticus have a clergy golf outing? More fun and more beneficial to…”
on Unintentional good advice.: “To clarify–I am not saying that the humeral veil should be dispensed with for Benediction! Just that, rather, an enhanced…” on Unintentional good advice.: “Along the same lines as L.’s comment, I have trouble squaring the following circle: When Father or Deacon presides at…”
on TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED THE 1930’s, 40’s and 50’s: “Here’s a story about my dad I have to share: My grandfather was being assigned to the Philippines after WWII.…”
on TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED THE 1930’s, 40’s and 50’s: “On the other hand, I grew up in the 90s. I didn’t have many friends, and not none at all…”
on Daily Rome Shot 708: Dalmatic Bling Opportunity: “Are the cords and tassels meant to symbolize something, or are they just ornamental?”
on Unintentional good advice.: “It has never made sense to me that the Bishops want to renew belief in the Real Presence, but, in…”
on TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED THE 1930’s, 40’s and 50’s: “I think there was a big change after WW2 when people moved out of the city to the suburbs. There…”
on TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED THE 1930’s, 40’s and 50’s: ““…Dad went to work and mom stayed home.” That was the first thing that came to mind for me, too.”
on ASK FATHER… ASK EVERYONE: Find recording of Archbp. Léonard imitating different regional Latin pronunciations: “Ipsitilla : Not sure if it’s helpful, but the Youtube channel belongs to Joël Devillet, and the original title of…”
PLEASE subscribe via PayPal if it is useful.
That way I have steady income I can plan on, and you wind up regularly on my list of benefactors for whom I pray and for whom I periodically say Holy Mass.
In view of the rapidly changing challenges I now face, I would like to add more $10/month subscribers. Will you please help?
For a one time donation...
My "challenge coin" for my 25th anniversary of ordination in 2016.
Want one? I do exchanges with military and LEOs, etc.
Loading ...If you travel internationally, this is a super useful gizmo for your mobile internet data. I use one. If you get one through my link, I get data rewards.
Loading ...
They find you a pro-life agent in your area who commits to giving a portion of the fee to a pro-life group!
Help Monks in Wyoming (coffee – UPDATED LINK) and Norcia (beer) and the wonderful "Soap Sisters" of Summit, NJ!
Please follow me on Twitter!
Use my code for a discount
Visits tracked by Statcounter
since Sat., 25 Nov. 2006:
Very adequate for the season. Thanks for sharing.
Merry Christmas, dear Fr. Z.
Sad. And a miraculous statue at that? Aaargh.
Last year I purchased a large-sized very pricey, beautifully-made creche set for our front lawn. I was estatic to find such a thing and be able to set it up in our yard. My husband set up lights. The neighbors loved it. The beautiful set was a comfort to me and to some neighbors.
Then the day after Epiphany, the baby was gone. I cried with shock as I went out to retrieve the morning paper. The very beautiful set with angel, shepherd, three wise men and the Holy Family is now useless and sits packed away in the basement.
My neighbors have been asking me all year “Ever get the Infant back?’. No such luck.
Sigh. A painful sign of the times that such a precious symbol be taken. Such a lack of respect! But this is happening more and more places, and more frequently.
I heard on the news recently that the Bambini, since they are the piece most often stolen from Nativity scenes, are now being fitted (internally) with GPS transmitters so they can be found when stolen and that they have proven to be successful.
Tina in Ashburn… can you get a replacement for the Infant from the company that produced the set or perhaps the place you bought it from? Often, knowing of the issue, they are willing to provide just the Infant in such circumstances. It’s worth a try and you might even be able to get it shipped overnight to have it in time. Just a thought.
Fr Bailey, thanks for the thought. I don’t have any info on the company that made it – too big for a box! Maybe I’ll try the store and see if there’s anyway to get this. At this rate, I wonder if all creche-making companies aren’t making extra infants.
Yeah, I was very interested by that same article about tracking devices. My husband is considering a high voltage line! ha ha ha.
Tina, you might try looking on the bottom or near the base of one of the other statues for the name of the company that made it. Sometimes they imprint or stamp their name in it so it may be hard to see, but you can feel it. If you can’t read it, put a piece of paper over it and scribble gently with a pencil or crayon which will create a negative image of the name which you will be able to read. I’m sorry I didn’t think of it before.
Best of luck! And don’t forget to ask St. Anthony for help.