The boy and the monk

There’s a legend in Spain about the Santo Niño. There are actually many legends about the Child God, but this one seems to be the most popular:

A Carmelite monastery was reportedly invaded during one of the battles between the Moors and Christians. Of the monks that lived in the monastery, only four were rescued. One of them was named Joseph, who had a special devotion to the Child Jesus.

It started one time as Joseph was working in the monastery’s yard. A child suddenly appeared to him and asked to pray with him. The monk then recited the “Ave,” and at the words “blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus,” the child interjected, “That is me!”

Then the child just disappeared but his face was engraved in the Joseph’s memory. Realizing that it could have been the Child Jesus, the monk soon began to long immensely to see the Child again. He wanted to produce a likeness that would remind him of the “Niño” (Spanish for “Boy”), but his initial efforts failed. For many years, Joseph struggled to make a sculpture of the Boy. Until one day, the “Niño” appeared again. The brother had already very old at the time.

“I came down to show myself again to you,” the “Niño” said, “so that you could finish the sculpture according to my likeness,” said the Child. The old monk finished the sculpture, and was very happy for his accomplishment.  Then, again, the Niño disappeared.

The monk was very tired. Soon after, he fell asleep and never woke up again.

The other monks, learning of the story, took good care of the Niño’s sculpture and began to venerate it. They reported of miracles by Him – sickness healed, wishes granted etc. And the devotion to the Santo Niño has since caught on and spread to many places.