Church of 20 July

We are a center of devotion to the Child Jesus, part of the OSNJ, animated by Salesians, Religious, and Lay people, both adults and youth, as well as other charisms.

We aim, as a Catholic ecclesial force inspired by the Gospel and Don Bosco’s Preventive System, within a setting of popular piety centered around the Child Jesus and His spirituality, through our various services, to be a community of communities and charisms. In our mission of integral evangelization, we seek to generate, in ourselves and in the pilgrims, authentic and passionate missionary-disciples of Jesus Christ, light of the world and salt of the earth—merciful, with a convinced, consistent, communal, and committed faith rooted in knowledge.

We commit to collaborating in the construction of the Kingdom of God according to the guidelines of the Evangelization Plan (“Plan E”) of the Archdiocese of Bogotá and the ecclesial orientations for Shrines.
We pledge, based on the values of our institutional vision, the Core Themes of the 27th General Chapter (CG 27), the guidelines of Plan E of the Archdiocese of Bogotá, and the theological and pastoral criteria guiding the devotion to the Child Jesus, to contribute to the building of the Kingdom of God (“I shall reign”).

In 1934, Father Juan del Rizzo was transferred to the Salesian College of León XIII and was immediately appointed as the director of the Oratory of Campo San José.

Father Juan del Rizzo was a great devotee of the Infant Jesus of Prague and, wherever he had been, he dedicated himself to spreading this devotion. Upon arriving at Campo San José, Father Bertola recommended that he pay attention to a request made by the Carmelite Fathers, who claimed to be the propagators of this devotion.

To understand one of the events that sparked Father Juan’s devotion to the Child Jesus, following Father Bertola’s advice, he went downtown to a religious goods store and bought a beautiful statue of the Child Jesus. He asked for a cross on its back to be removed and for the face to be slightly retouched. When the work was finished, Father del Rizzo was astonished by the beauty of the image—without the cross, the open arms of the Child gave the sensation of embracing everyone who came to Him.

He placed the image in the shed and had photographs taken to make holy cards to distribute to the children of the Oratory and those who attended Sunday Mass. One of these photos he had enlarged and framed with a beautiful Florentine frame.

At first, men and women from the surrounding areas came. Then workers from nearby neighborhoods, and later young couples who consecrated their homes to the Divine Child. In a short time, hundreds and hundreds of people from all over the city were filling Campo San José.

Shortly after his arrival, Father del Rizzo realized the poverty in which the children of the Oratory lived. They came with little clothing, sick, hungry, their eyes sad and lacking hope. Something had to be done for them.

In his preaching, he began to speak of the need to help these children. First, they had to be fed and clothed—and what better food than delicious chocolate! So he began asking for chocolate for his children. “The Child Jesus wants you to bring bread and chocolate for the poor children,” Father Juan del Rizzo would say; and as soon as he asked, many people would arrive bringing the needed bread and chocolate. “Poor children have no clothes to wear, and the Child God would love for you to donate fabric to make clothes for them…”

How admirable are the Works of God!

With what simplicity Father Juan del Rizzo spoke, and how deeply he touched people’s hearts!

Little by little, the commitment to help the poorest, especially the children of the Oratory, grew alongside the love for the Divine Child Jesus. A simple yet profound faith began to grow in people’s hearts. Thus was born the Devotion to the Divine Child Jesus of the 20 de Julio neighborhood: like a whisper, like a flame that ignited in the hearts of those who heard of Him, who came to His feet, and who helped others as much as they could.