Over 10,000 faithful filled Bogotá’s Divine Child Shrine to mark 90 years of devotion with Masses, processions, and prayers before the holy image.
Newsroom (September 9, 2025, Gaudium Press) – In 1636, Jesus appeared to Venerable Margaret of the Blessed Sacrament and made her a promise: “Whatever you wish to ask, ask it through the merits of my Childhood, and your prayer will be heard.”
Over the centuries, countless devotees worldwide have asked God for favours through the merits of the Childhood of Jesus — and many have received extraordinary graces.
To give thanks for these favours, about ten thousand faithful completely filled the plaza of the Shrine of the Divine Child on Sunday, September 7, celebrating 90 years of this devotion, which was born in the Veinte de Julio neighbourhood of Bogotá thanks to Salesian priest Fr. Juan del Rizzo, from where it later spread to other countries.
The celebration began nine days earlier with the traditional novena and continued on Saturday, September 6, with various activities, including a lunch for about one thousand children from Salesian houses and a Mass presided over by Auxiliary Bishop of Bogotá, Mons. Alejandro Díaz García.
On the feast day — the first Sunday of September — thousands of pilgrims came to the shrine from the early morning to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation, attend one of the many scheduled Masses, and pray before the original image of the Divine Child, displayed in a chapel behind the main altar.
The main Mass at noon was celebrated by Fr. Rubén Darío Jaramillo, Superior of the Salesian Province of San Pedro Claver in Bogotá, accompanied by several priests of the shrine.
As every year, the celebration was preceded by the procession of the image of the Divine Child through the streets of the Veinte de Julio neighborhood. This year, the statue departed from the Ciudadela María Micaela, carried by a group of Mexican pilgrims. Despite occasional rain, the faithful accompanied the route with the Rosary and hymns, while children dressed like the image — members of the “Amiguitos del Divino Niño” Salesian ministry — walked ahead.
The procession concluded with the statue entering the shrine plaza, welcomed by the ringing of bells and loud applause from the thousands awaiting the central Mass.
Witnesses of Jesus
In his homily, Fr. Jaramillo emphasized the 90-year tradition of devotion to the Divine Child, which gathers thousands “with faith and devotion to present their intentions.”
“Who is the Child Jesus?” he asked, answering: “The One who grew in grace, wisdom, and holiness. The One sent to lift nations and bring salvation.”
He recalled that the Child Jesus is also “the One full of wisdom, conversing with the teachers of the Law,” who later as an adult teaches: “Whoever does not take up his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.”
Thus, celebrating the feast of the Divine Child means asking for the grace to listen to His word and follow Him faithfully. To do so, Catholics must detach from worldly attachments that hinder their relationship with Christ.
The priest encouraged the faithful to pray for “an abundance of the Spirit,” just as the Child Jesus filled the Virgin Mary with grace. Only in this way, he said, can Colombians build a country of grace, wisdom, and holiness, overcoming lies, corruption, and injustice.
The ceremony ended with the blessing of images of the Divine Child brought by the faithful.
Today, devotion to the Divine Child is alive not only in Colombia but also in Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Peru, Ecuador, and many other countries.
Compiled by Gustavo Kralj
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