Note 492 — Chapter III
Reading edition
In the church of the Ara Cœli, at Rome, is a miraculous image of the infant Christ, carved, it is said, out of wood from the Mount of Olives, and painted by St. Luke. It is known as the Santissimo Bambino, or Most Holy Babe, and is taken in its state-coach to visit the sick. At one time it received more fees than any physician in Rome. Its fête is celebrated by theatrical representations of the scenes of the Advent. The apocryphal Gospel of the Infancy tends to popularize this feature of Romanism.