The Chaplet of the Infant Jesus, often called the Chaplet of the Infant of Prague or the “Little Crown of the Holy Child,” is a short devotion of three Our Fathers, in honor of the Holy Family, and twelve Hail Marys, in memory of the twelve years of Jesus’ childhood. It was composed in the 1630s or 1640s by a young French Carmelite nun, Venerable Margaret of the Blessed Sacrament, of the monastery of Beaune, at the same time that the Carmelites of Prague were spreading devotion to their miraculous statue of the Child Jesus. It takes about five minutes. Below are the steps, the words, the story of the chaplet and a closing prayer.
How to pray the Chaplet of the Infant Jesus
The chaplet has fifteen beads, usually with a medal of the Infant Jesus: three for the Our Fathers and twelve for the Hail Marys.
- Make the Sign of the Cross.
- Before each Our Father, say: “And the Word was made flesh.”
- Pray the three Our Fathers, in honor of Jesus, Mary and Joseph.
- Before the first Hail Mary, say: “And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.”
- Pray the twelve Hail Marys, one for each year of Jesus’ childhood, from Bethlehem to the finding in the Temple.
- End with the Glory Be and, if you wish, the closing prayer below.
This is the form described in The Carmelite Review, the magazine of the Carmelite Fathers of Niagara Falls, Ontario, in 1902. Some booklets repeat “And the Word was made flesh” before every Hail Mary as well.
The words of the chaplet
The verse said before the Our Fathers comes from the Gospel of St. John (John 1:14, Douay-Rheims):
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we saw his glory, the glory as it were of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
The Our Father (three times)
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name.
Thy kingdom come;
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Amen.
The Hail Mary (twelve times)
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.
Glory Be
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.
Amen.
Closing prayer to the Child Jesus
This prayer to the Child Jesus was indulgenced by Pope Leo XIII in 1894 and printed in The Raccolta, the Holy See’s collection of indulgenced prayers:
Most dear Lord Jesus Christ, who, being made an infant for us, wast willing to be born in a cave, to free us from the darkness of sin, to draw us to thyself, and to inflame us with thy holy love; we adore Thee as our Creator and Redeemer, we accept and choose Thee for our King and Lord, and for tribute we offer Thee all the affections of our poor hearts. Dear Jesus, our Lord and God, deign to accept this offering, and that it may be worthy of thine acceptance, pardon us our faults, enlighten us, and inflame us with that holy fire which Thou camest to bring into the world and enkindle in men’s hearts. May our souls thus become a perpetual sacrifice in thy honour. Grant that we may ever seek thy greater glory here on earth, so that we may one day come to rejoice in thy infinite loveliness in Heaven. Amen.
The origin of the chaplet
Margaret of the Blessed Sacrament (Marguerite Parigot) entered the Carmel of Beaune, in Burgundy, as a girl and was known for her love of the Holy Child Jesus. She composed this little chaplet in honor of the mysteries of his infancy. According to the account printed in 1902, the Child Jesus revealed to her that it pleased him, and promised special graces, “above all purity of heart and innocence,” to those who carried the chaplet and prayed it in honor of his childhood. She died at Beaune on May 26, 1648.
Meanwhile, in Prague, a Carmelite priest, Fr. Cyril of the Mother of God, had found the damaged statue of the Infant Jesus in 1637, and the devotion to the “Infant of Prague” spread from the Carmelite church of Our Lady of Victory throughout Europe. The two Carmelite devotions to the Holy Child met and mingled, which is why Margaret’s chaplet is now usually called the Chaplet of the Infant of Prague. See the Infant of Prague novena for the story of the statue.
The 1902 magazine encouraged parents to teach the chaplet to their children: devotion to the Child Jesus, it said, helps them keep their baptismal innocence and gives them a model to love and imitate.
When to pray it
- On the 25th of each month, the day many devotees keep in honor of the Child Jesus, recalling Christmas Day.
- During Christmastide, and especially on the Solemnity of the Holy Name and the Feast of the Holy Family.
- With children, as a first prayer on beads before they learn the Rosary.
- During a novena to the Infant of Prague, together with the novena prayer.
Frequently asked questions
How many beads are in the Infant of Prague chaplet?
Fifteen: three for the Our Fathers and twelve for the Hail Marys, usually with a medal of the Infant Jesus.
Why twelve Hail Marys?
In memory of the twelve years of Jesus’ childhood, up to the finding in the Temple (Luke 2:42).
Who wrote the Chaplet of the Infant Jesus?
Venerable Margaret of the Blessed Sacrament, a Carmelite nun of Beaune, France, who died in 1648.
More prayers
- Infant of Prague novena
- Chaplets
- Feast of the Holy Family
- Most Holy Name of Jesus
- Chaplet of St. Joseph
- Catholic prayer for children
Texts and sources
- “Little Crown or Chaplet of the Infant Jesus,” The Carmelite Review, vol. 10 (Niagara Falls, Ontario: Carmelite Fathers, 1902), public domain (archive.org).
- Prayer to the Child Jesus (Leo XIII, 1894), The Raccolta (Burns and Oates, 1910), no. 78, public domain (archive.org).
- John 1:14 (Douay-Rheims).