Miracles of Santo Niño de Atocha

A miracle, which was related in 1829, tells of a woman who was wrongly sentenced to prison. She pleaded with the authorities that they had unjustly imprisoned her, but to no avail. To make matters worse, she couldn’t find anyone to help her prove her innocence. He tirelessly prayed to Our Lady of Atocha and the Blessed Infant in Her arms, asking for help. The more he prayed, the more it seemed that he would not receive help. But this dear lady believed; with all her heart, she believed. So she kept praying.

A smartly dressed young man entered the prison out of nowhere, apparently. He brought food and water to the distraught woman. He said it was in response to a request the imprisoned woman had made to her mother. She begged him to help her with her difficult situation. He was able to free her from jail. She asked his name to remember him and pray for him. He told her: “My mother is María de Atocha. My name is Emmanuel de Atocha.”

At the time it did not occur to her what the young man was telling her about his identity. He walked all night, towards the little town of Fresnillo, to go to the Shrine of the Lady of Atocha and give thanks for the miraculous escape he had had through Her intercession. Upon entering the Church, he saw the statue of the Holy Child in Arms of Our Lady of Atocha, on the Main Altar of the church. She could see that this was the same Child who had helped her in prison. Then he remembered the tradition of the Santo Niño; and how he would come to jails at night. He knew that Our Lady and Our Lord Jesus had answered his prayers.

Another miracle refers to a shepherd who was in the forest taking care of his flock. This day, our story finds him alone, sitting under a tree, looking for some kind of shelter from the pouring rain. Not a soul was seen for miles. Stealthily, a snake slithered out from under a rock, unnoticed by the shepherd. The rattlesnake struck before he realized what was happening. The pastor was bitten on the right leg and was completely incapacitated. Unable to move, he prayed with his remaining strength; but he felt no relief. Then he remembered the stories his mother had told him about Our Lady of Atocha, and the powerful intercessor She was with Her Son. He prayed to Our Lady of Atocha and Our Lord Jesus, the Holy Child of Atocha. He did not receive the instant healing he hoped for. In fact, he didn’t feel any relief. Weak, life quickly drained from him, he finally passed out.

When he regained consciousness, he was sure that he was in heaven, or rather he prayed that he was in heaven. But when he looked around, everything was the same as before, wasn’t it? He realized that the sun was shining and the storm had passed. There was a small boy, a Nino, standing next to him, speaking to him in a low voice, with a water gourd in hand. The boy gave the shepherd some water to drink from the gourd. Then he gave him some bread from his basket. By drinking the water and eating the bread, the pastor immediately began to feel better. He was puzzled by what was happening, as he had not yet discovered who the Child was. All he knew was that he could feel better.

He got up and walked. His leg was healing! The dizziness was leaving him! There was no more swelling and the fever had left him. It was good! He looked for the little boy, but he was gone. The pastor thought this was curious, but did not give it too much importance. He left the forest, his mission to go to the Church of Our Lady of Atocha and offer His praise and thanksgiving for saving his life. Her experience was the same as that found by the woman in the first miracle. When the pastor entered the church, there, on the main altar, sitting on a throne, was the Child, the Child who had saved his life in the forest, and in His Hand was the same basket from which the Shepherd’s food and in the other Hand the gourd from which the Child had given him to drink. Only now did he realize that he was not just a child, it was the Holy Child, who had saved his life.