Near triple digit temperatures on Saturday, Sept. 5, did not deter hundreds of pilgrims from across the Southeast from gathering to celebrate God’s Word becoming flesh as the Divine Child Jesus.

Now in its 12th year, the Divino Niño Festival at the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Hanceville has become an annual event for families to spend a day in worship, fellowship and Eucharistic Adoration on the 400-acre campus on the banks of the Mulberry Fork. 

The bilingual festival is scheduled every year to take place on the Saturday closest to the First Sunday of September, which is the Feast of the Divino Niño. Established by the Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration (PCPA), the festival includes Mass, bilingual talks on the Child Jesus, a Eucharistic Healing Service and a Blessing of Sacramental Objects. In keeping with the PCPA nuns’ primary mission of promoting the Holy Eucharist, attendees are encouraged to spend time in silent adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament.

A highlight of this year’s festival was the appearance of award-winning author Hope Ambassador and EWTN television host Paula Umaña, who gave the Spanish talk to a standing room-only crowd on the main piazza. 

After the birth of her fifth child, Umaña was diagnosed with CIDP, a neurological disorder that left her completely paralyzed. Due to what she believes was a result of her deep devotion to Mary, particularly Our Lady of Lourdes, Umaña eventually was able to walk again with the aid of leg devices. She now shares her inspirational story across the U.S. and internationally. 

“I want to thank the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament for giving me the opportunity to be part of such a special celebration,” Umaña said. “For those who have not experienced the Divino Niño Festival, I invite them to come one year. It is a beautiful celebration of faith, joy, prayer, and love.” 

After weeks of praying and studying and communicating with several priests, theologians, and catechists in preparation for her talk, Umaña eventually discovered why the mystery of the Divino Niño cannot be fully explained with words. “If you want to understand the Divino Niño, you have to become like a child,” she said. “A child does not need to understand everything before trusting. A child simply believes, receives love, and places himself in the hands of someone greater. You have to trust with simplicity, believe with confidence, and place yourself completely in God’s hands.” 

Umaña pointed out that her message at the festival was more about helping people experience Jesus rather than providing information. “We must remember what it feels like to have the heart of a child - to pray, to sing, and to laugh. God wants us to have a humble heart, a simple heart and a heart full of trust. He knows exactly what we need.” 

Father Matthew Mary Bartow of the Franciscan Missionaries of the Eternal Word in Irondale provided the English language talk. He spoke of Mother Angelica’s reason for erecting a statue of the Divino Niño in order to give expectant women second thoughts about aborting their baby. 

“Mother said, in part, ‘Maybe one woman…will look at that face and realize that [considering having an abortion] is terribly wrong. If even one woman forgets her abortion, it would be worth building the whole thing.”

Father Bartow pointed out that in using the statue of the Child Jesus as a means to save lives, Mother Angelica touched upon a fundamental and centuries-old church teaching - the infinite dignity of the human person. “The image of the Divino Niño stands as a permanent reminder of this truth, especially since the Son of God deigned to leave His exalted place in Heaven and become a little child,” he said. “So, He revealed the profound fidelity of every human life at every stage from conception until natural death.” 

Mother Mary Paschal, the abbess of the monastery, noted that many souls are drawn closer to God through confession, adoration, and worshiping together at Holy Mass during the Divino Niño Festival. “It certainly seems to be a prelude to the universal and incomparable feast of divine grace - Christmas,” she said. “As the Christ Child must have imparted gifts of grace beyond imagining to His first adorers and visitors - the shepherds and the magi - so too, we know our Eucharistic Lord pours out immeasurable blessings and answers to prayer to those who travel from near and far to adore Him here at the shrine.”