The Divine Child For Our Time: Jesus del Pichincha

The Divine Child For Our Time: Jesus del Pichincha

Matthew Bellisario O.P. 2020

"I can not do more for you, to show you my love! Ungrateful souls do not repay me with scorn, sacrilege, and blasphemy... be my comfort in my Eucharistic solitudes, watch in my company..."

Introduction

I was blessed to be able to make a pilgrimage to Quito, Ecuador, and consecrate myself to Our Lady of Good Success in May of 2015. One of my favorite statues that I found in the Conceptionist convent was the El Divino Nino Jesus del Pichincha. (The Divine Child Jesus of Pichincha) He is also known as El Divino Nino De la Cruz. (The Divine Child Of The Cross) I found myself constantly pulled before Him when praying my rosary at the Conceptionist convent church. I was intrigued since I had never seen an image of Our Lord quite like this one, and I wanted to know the story behind it. I was quite sad on my last day after having enjoyed spending time in prayer every day with Him so I was sure to take several pictures some of which are posted here. I asked some local Catholics who are great devotees to Our Lady of Good Success and who were so kind as to escort us around Quito, about the statue. As I came to find out, this image and devotion is a very unique one that Our Lord desires to be spread throughout the world for our time.

The Story and Meaning of the Image

This image of the statue was apparently given to Mother Mariana de Jesus during one her visions, and it has not only great significance for Ecuador, but also for those who desire to keep the faith in our dark time. Mother Mariana saw Our Lord as a young child appear on the summit of Mt Pichincha which overlooks Quito. Our Lord overlooking the valley told her that He would give Himself on Pichincha for the good of the Republic of Ecuador. He also stated that He is happy when Our Lady is extolled under the title "Good Success." (Buen Suceso) If you are not familiar with the approved apparition of Our Lady of Good Success you can find more at this website. He continued to say that all who extolled her under this title would receive graces to help families remain steadfast in the faith. He also stated that it would profit much for the salvation of souls especially for those who are under siege from the rampant impurity of our time.

Mother Mariana saw the Archangels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael take the Divine Child up to the summit where the mountain was wrapped in heavenly light. Jesus was dressed in a long white robe dotted with stars and a lovely pinkish purple colored garment, which is very unique, and according to Mother Mariana, she had never seen the color on earth before. The Divine Child found Himself before a cross with a crown of thorns. Jesus then fell on the ground and prayed to the Father for Ecuador so that He and Our Lady would reign over the republic. He was then lifted up on the cross overlooking Ecuador. Our Lord's tears were then collected by the angels and spread over the country.

The Divine Child overlooked Quito and wept and said, "I can not do more for you, to show you my love! Ungrateful souls do not repay me with scorn, sacrilege, and blasphemy... be my comfort in my Eucharistic solitudes, watch in my company... Amid the bitterness and dire times that are coming to this country, your humble, secret and silent prayer together with your voluntary penance, save it from destruction.." 

Of course, we know the story of Ecuador and how Our Lady promised that the Conceptionist convent housing the miraculous statue would always remain until the end of time. In 1634 Our Lord informed Mother Mariana that He also wanted this image of Himself to be spread further across the world with the message attached to it above, most especially, "I can not do more for you, to show you my love! Ungrateful souls do not repay me with scorn, sacrilege and blasphemy...be my comfort in my Eucharistic solitudes, watch in my company" How important this message is for us! As we know Our Lord's sacrifice on the cross is represented at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, so behind the Divine Child's head if you look carefully can be seen the Eucharistic host. Notice the halo is presented in the Spanish artistic style and behind His head is not a halo but the Eucharistic Host! Our Lord offering Himself in this image suggests that we always need an increase in reverence for the Eucharist. We also need to emphasize the Church's teaching on the Real Presence. As we know in our sad time of disbelief in the Real Presence this image is a most fitting one for us. 

The Unique Age of Our Lord

In conversation with our friends in Quito, who also have access to many of the prophesies still not recorded in English, I found out more information. I was curious as to why Our Lord presented Himself as an older child and not an infant as we usually see in religious art. Most of the time Our Lord appears as an infant or an adult, but rarely if ever as an older almost teenage looking child. During His crucifixion, He is always depicted as an adult, but not in this case. Instead, He is presented at a unique age. I was informed that Our Lord knew that in the future children of this particular age would be targeted so as to destroy the family. He knew that the Devil would focus his assault on children of this age trying to get them to fall into the sins of impurity, immodesty, and other sins of the flesh trying to get them to give up the faith in exchange for these worldly pleasures. This is the reason why He wanted to present Himself at this particular age. He wants to draw them unto Himself. 

Our Lord and Our Lady knew the trials that awaited us in our time and He wanted this devotion to be rekindled for us reading this today! I encourage all parents who have children to have a strong devotion to the Divine Child of Pichincha. Feel free to download these images and print them out or make your own holy cards with them. If you want higher quality images you can email me and I will email you higher quality images. I used one to make an 11X14 canvas picture.  

El Divino Nino Jesus del Pichincha have mercy on us and help us to overcome the abominable sins of our age!