Originally published at National Catholic Register
On Christmas Eve in 1517, the Blessed Virgin Mary placed the Christ Child in his arms of St. Cajetan during his first Mass in the Chapel of the Nativity.
On Christmas Eve in 1517, a saint experienced a mystical vision in which the Blessed Virgin Mary placed the Christ Child in his arms as he offered his first Mass in Rome’s Basilica of St. Mary Major.
The little-known but profound experience of the Newborn Jesus occurred within the storied walls of the Marian basilica’s Chapel of the Nativity, where St. Cajetan of Thiene prayed before the relics of Christ’s manger.
“In the hour of his most holy birth, I found myself in the true and material most holy Nativity,” St. 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.”
St. Cajetan also recounted that St. Jerome, whose relics are said to rest in the basilica, appeared in the vision and encouraged him to embrace the Child.
