Menino Jesus Perdido

This was the name of a private annual feast – private because it was not authorised by any liturgical provision – that was celebrated, sometimes with some pomp, inside nuns’ convents without the direct involvement of their chaplains. It nevertheless took an edifying form of devotion and piety that deserves particular esteem. In the Convent of St Clare (Santa Clara) in this city it was established around the middle of the 17th century by the pious nun Clara da Chaga; the account of this feast and its details published in O Jornal (‘The Newspaper’) of 6 January 1934 is of interest. The book Ripas da Madeira contains interesting details of the feasts of the ‘Menino de Jesus Perdido’, although these are drawn with some touches of pure fiction.