Christ Child

The term refers to a period of Jesus' life, described in the canonical Gospels, encompassing his nativity in Bethlehem, the visit of the Magi, and his presentation at the Temple in Jerusalem.

It also includes his childhood, culminating in the event where his parents find him in the Temple at age 12, after which the Gospels remain silent about his life until the start of his ministry.

Liturgical feasts relating to Christ's infancy and childhood include: From about the third or fourth century onwards, the child Jesus is frequently shown in paintings, and sculpture.

Teresa of Ávila, Thérèse of Lisieux, along with the devotees of the Divino Niño such as Mother Angelica and Giovanni Rizzo claim to have had apparitions of the Infant Jesus.

These icons of the Christ Child were often posed in the contrapposto style in which the positioning of the knees reflected in the opposite direction,[3] similar to ancient depictions of the Roman Emperor.

The symbolism of the Christ Child in art reached its apex during the Renaissance: the Holy Family was a central theme in the works of Leonardo da Vinci and many other masters.

On 1636, a Discalced Carmelite nun, Venerable Margaret of the Blessed Sacrament, founded the Association of the Child Jesus in Beaune, France, in honour of the divine infancy.

[10] The Christ Child Society was founded in 1885 in Washington, D.C., by Mary Virginia Merrick,[11] as a small relief organization to aid local underprivileged children.