When was 'El Santo Niño de Atocha' born?

Answer 1

Sometime in the three year span of 7-4 B.C.E. is thought to be the birth of the person described by the phrase 'El Santo Niño de Atocha'. The words mean 'The Holy Child of Atocha', in the same word order as in English. It's pronounced 'ehl SAHN-toh NEE-nyoh theh ah-TOH-chah'.

The phrase is a title that's given to a beloved statue in a church in the area of Madrid, Spain. It thereby refers to a miraculous appearance by Jesus of Nazareth [c. 7-4 B.C.E. - c. A.D. 30] in Spain. The statue is beloved because of the miraculous coming to life of the Child each night to bring food and water to starving Christians imprisoned by their Moorish captors.

These weren't the only rounds that the Child made dressed as a pilgrim of hope and refreshment to beleaguered Christians. In fact, stories of these visits circulated soon after the Assumption of Mary Mother of Jesus. So whereas the stories in Spain variously date to the eighth and the thirteenth centuries, similar stories are told in regard to colonial Mexico and the Philippines, and to the southwestern United States of America.

Still other stories are situated around the southeastern Mediterranean Basin. In fact, it's suggested that 'Atocha' indeed may refer to the town in Spain. But it also may draw upon earlier such feats by the Mother and Child in the area of Antioch ['Antiochia'], Turkey. In that regard, 'Atocha' may be a form of 'Antiochia' that became shortened over time.