The story of the Christmas vision of the Child Jesus that Saint Cajetan had in Rome

On Christmas Eve 1517, a saint experienced a mystical vision in which the Blessed Virgin Mary placed the Baby Jesus in his arms as he offered his first Mass in the Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome.

The little-known but profound experience of the newborn Jesus occurred within the walls of the Marian Basilica’s Nativity Chapel, where St. Cajetan of Thiene prayed before the relics of Christ’s manger.

“At the hour of his most holy birth I found myself in the true and material most holy Nativity,” Saint Cajetan wrote to Sister Laura Mignani, an Augustinian nun and spiritual confidant.

“From the hands of the timid Virgin I took that tender Child, the Eternal Word made flesh.”

Saint Cajetan also related that Saint Jerome, whose relics are said to rest in the basilica, appeared in the vision and encouraged him to embrace the child.

“To encourage me was Blessed Jerome, my father, a great lover of the Nativity, whose remains rest at the entrance of the same manger,” he wrote.

The vision, which according to St. Cajetan occurred again on January 1 and 6 during the festivities of the Circumcision and Epiphany, has remained a central spiritual moment for the Congregation of Regular Clerics, or Theatines, the order of priests he co-founded .

In an interview with CNA—EWTN News’ English agency—in Rome, Father Juan Roberto Orqueida, chief archivist of the Theatine order, revealed a copy of St. Cajetan’s letter, the original of which is in Naples.

Father Orqueida noted that Saint Cajetan was ordained on September 30, the feast of Saint Jerome, and deliberately waited three months to celebrate his first Mass on Christmas Eve in the Nativity Chapel.

The election was deeply symbolic. The Basilica of Saint Mary Major has long been a cornerstone of devotion to the Nativity of Christ. Known as “the Bethlehem of the West,” it houses a relic believed to be fragments of the manger in which Jesus was placed, which can now be venerated in the crypt beneath the basilica’s main altar.

Father Orqueida stressed that devotion to the Nativity of Christ continues to be a central part of the spirituality of the Theatine Order today, “especially to see in the Child Jesus, God who becomes part of our humanity, becomes man.” .

Saint Cajetan was one of the great reformers of the Church during the Reformation period. He is remembered as the “saint of divine providence,” a title that reflects his unwavering trust in God. He co-founded the Theatine order in 1524 to counter the corruption of his time, combining monastic poverty with an active ministry of care for the poor and marginalized.

Father Enrico Danese described the humility and austerity of Saint Cajetan: “He was blameless, chaste, meek, merciful and full of all piety towards the sick. With his own hands he fed them and served them. As for his room, it was poor. There was a poor straw bag where he rested… His dress was made of coarse cloth.”

Saint Cajetan, canonized in 1671, is often depicted in art holding the Baby Jesus, as is Saint Anthony of Padua, who also had a mystical experience with the Baby Jesus.

Near Piazza Navona in Rome, the Basilica of Sant’Andrea della Vallethe basilica of the Theatine order in the Eternal City, a large painted altarpiece and a statue depict Saint Cajetan holding the Child Jesus.

At Christmas, the Basilica of Sant’Andrea hosts an elaborate display of dozens of nativity scenes, a tradition that reflects Saint Cajetan’s devotion to the Baby Jesus.

Hidden in the crypt of the Nativity Chapel, to the right of the main altar of Saint Mary Major, a marble sculpture of Saint Cajetan holding the Child Jesus identifies the sacred place where the vision occurred. (Saint Ignatius of Loyola also chose to celebrate his first Mass in the same chapel in 1538).

As they contemplate the marble statue of Cajetan holding the Baby Jesus, pilgrims are invited to enter the mystery of the Nativity and, like the saint himself, to embrace the tender and eternal Word made flesh.

The Theatine Order has offered this prayer to Saint Cajetan to be said in front of any image of the Child Jesus during the Christmas season:

“Sweet Child Jesus, you, in an admirable vision, wanted to pass from the arms of your mother to those of your priest Saint Cajetan, who was pleasing to you for the sanctity of his life and the great faith he always had in your providence. Through his intercession, turn your gaze towards us, which is part of the joy of the blessed in heaven, and listen to the prayer that we address to you from the depths of our hearts. We present to you the filial abandonment that Saint Cajetan had in you, confident that, through his intercession, everything we ask before your venerated image will be granted to us. Amen”.

Translated and adapted by the ACI Prensa team. Originally published in CNA.