Historia Del Divino Nino

History of Divino Nino
The devotion to the Divino Niño began in Bogota Colombia with Fr. John Rizzo, a Salesian priest from the region near Arenzano, Italy, who already had a great devotion to theInfant Jesus. In 1914, the Salesians were building a grand church in Barranquilla, Colombia, in an extremely poor locale. The Superior asked Father Rizzo to ask for donations from the people for theconstruction of the new church, something he was reluctant to undertake because of the immense poverty of these people, so much so that when he returned to the rectory he had not collected a cent!The next day, the Superior asked him to go out again and gather the necessary donations. This time, Father knelt in front of the Blessed Mother to ask her help in this difficult assignment. In seeingthe Child Jesus in the arms of His Mother, Father John thought to himself that up to now, he had asked for favors through Mary’s intercessions, but he had not brought his prayer requests directly to theChild Jesus. Father John decided that he would entrust all his efforts to the Child Jesus. The following day, full of anguish he went to pray before the statue of Mary, Help of Christians. Then withall his soul, he pleaded that the Holy Child give him the courage to beg for the works of God. His prayers were answered. Raising his eyes, he saw the little Child Jesus, smiling with His armsoutstretched as if to say "Take me with you. I want to accompany you." From that time, he became a great apostle of the Holy Child. He spoke of Him, he worked for Him, and he dedicated his life and all hisenergy to promote devotion to the Infancy of Our Lord. In 1935, Father Rizzo was transferred to a poor section in the south of Bogota called the Barrio Veinte de Julio, or twentieth of July. Convincedthat it pleased God to honor Our Lord in His Infancy, Father wanted to initiate the devotion in his new parish. In a store in Bogota called Vaticano, owned by an Italian artist, Father Rizzo found...