The Holy Infant of Good Health Story
The devotion to the Holy Infant of Good Health represents the mystery of the infancy and childhood of Jesus. It is a beautiful devotion of Our Lord’s love and mercy that He wants each of us to receive and develop. Most of all, He wants us to come to Him with childlike faith, knowing and trusting in Him for all our special needs and intentions.
In 1939, the visible grace and smile of God came upon the beautiful city of Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico. From that moment on, He gave the city His presence through the small wooden image of the Infant Jesus venerated in the home of Rosa Maria Guadalupe “Lupita” Calderon. In her humble home, the Divine Powers began to be manifested.
On April 21, 1942, the title “Holy Infant of Good Health” (Santo Nino de la Salud) was given to this image of the Infant Jesus deriving from the amazing cures and recoveries for the physical and spiritual needs of many in Morelia. In 1944, with ecclesiastical permission the statue was crowned. The image today is adorned with symbols of the power of Christ, wearing a royal mantle, a golden scepter in the left hand, while the right is raised in blessing, and an imperial crown of precious stones.
By the mid 1950’s, the devotion to the Holy Infant began to spread quickly to other countries. It was during this time a devout lady by the name of Margot James brought the devotion to the Bay St. Louis, Mississippi area.
In 1957, the Archbishop of Morelia moved with pastoral zeal to promote the cause of public veneration. He transferred the statue of the Holy Infant from Lupita’s home to the Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in a solemn procession, until a splendid Church was dedicated in 1961 honoring the Holy Infant of Good Health.
A copy of the image was presented to His Holiness Pope John XXIII on January 5, 1959. The devotion was subsequently granted a plenary indulgence to those who go on pilgrimage to the Shrine of the Holy Infant.
On February 15, 1997 the first Chapel honoring the Holy Infant was dedicated at St. Ann Church in Clermont Harbor, Mississippi. In 2004, Bishop Thomas Rodi decreed the Chapel to be a Diocesan Shrine. The Traveling Pilgrim Statue of the Holy Infant of Good Health for the United States is housed at the Shrine.
Rosa Maria “Lupita” Calderon and Estela Barreda founded the religious order of the Missionaries of the Holy Infant Jesus of Good health on November 12, 1970 in Morelia, Mexico.
The Holy Infant’s Feast Day is April 21st, but it is celebrated on the last Sunday of April each year in Morelia. There is also an annual Feast Day celebration at the Shrine of the Holy Infant in Mississippi.
Many people have prayed to the Holy Infant over the years and received healings but most of all, they have found amazing strength to accept God’s will.
(The Traveling Pilgrim Image is housed at the Shrine in MS)
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