The Infant Jesus of the Afflicted: a women’s devotion in Lisbon during the reign of King João VI
Bookings/Information
* Cost of a call to the national landline network
- Booking required. Free admission.
- Maximum of 20 participants.
In 1817, in a Lisbon still recovering from the French invasions, an orphan from the Recolhimento da Rua da Rosa was cured of her paralysis; this was attributed to a painting in the Convent of the Trinas do Mocambo depicting the Infant Jesus, known as ‘the Saviour of the Afflicted’.
The miracle was witnessed by several people, including the doctor treating her, and became widely known.
The devotion appears to have been predominantly female, popular and confined to the first half of the nineteenth century, when political and social times were, indeed, ‘troubled’.
In addition to prayer cards and amulets, the original painting was also reproduced as large sculptures for use in private oratories, similar to the example donated to the Museu de São Roque in 2009, which inspired this exhibition.
