The Theft of the Most Holy 'Bambinello'

The Copy of the 'Bambinello'

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Thirty years ago, on February 1st 1994, a centuries-old, much venerated, bejewelled wooden statue of the baby Jesus, the 'Santissimo Bambinello', was stolen from the church of Santa Maria in Aracoeli.  The statue, which has never been recovered, has been replaced with a copy. 

The original statue is said to have been carved in Jerusalem, in the 15th or 16th century, from a piece of olive wood from the Garden of Gethsemane. It was brought to Rome in 1647 and many miraculous cures were soon attributed to it. It became the custom to transport the statue to the beds of seriously sick children. 

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