The Venerated image of “Mary, Help of Christians”
to which Pope Leo XIII granted a Canonical Coronation on
17 May 1903. Basilica of Our Lady, Help of Christians, Turin.
Date: Circa 1867.
Source: Own work.
Author: Tommaso Andrea Lorenzone (1824-1902),
at the request of Don Bosco.
(Wikimedia Commons)
Titulo Auxilium Christianorum.
“Our Lady, Help Of Christians”.
Feast Day 24 May.
Sharp-Eyed Readers will instantly recognise the 1861 Printer's error on this particular Feast Day entry: Instead of “Die XIV”, meaning “Fourteenth Day”, it should have been printed “Die XXIV”, meaning “Twenty-Fourth Day”. One assumes it is too late to contact the Printers to advise them of their error ?
Missale Romanum 1861.
Illustration: ZEPHYRINUS
The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia,
unless stated otherwise.
Mary, Help of Christians (Latin: Sancta Maria Auxilium Christianorum; Spanish: Nuestra Señora María Auxiliadora de los Cristianos; is a Roman Catholic Marian Devotion with a Feast Day Celebrated on 24 May.
Saint John Chrysostom was the first person to use this Marian Title (“Mary, Help Of Christians”) in 345 A.D. as a Devotion to The Virgin Mary. Don Bosco also propagated Marian Devotion under this Title. The Title of “Mary, Help of Christians” is associated with the defence of Christian Europe (Latin and Greek), the North of Africa, and The Middle East, from non-Christian peoples during The Middle Ages.
In 1572, during the expansion of the Islamic Ottoman Empire, which intended to invade Christian Europe, Pope Saint Pius V invoked Christian Armies, and its victory achieved was consequently attributed to the Intercession of Mary under this Title.
English: Treviso Cathedral. The Madonna Chapel.
A 19th-Century wooden statue of Mary, Help of Christians, by Ferdinand Stuflesser, artist of Val Gardena, Italy.
Français : Cathédrale de Trévise - Chapelle de la Vierge - au centre une de l'autel une statue en bois récente du XIXe par Ferdinand Stuflesser, artiste de Val Gardena, Représentant Marie Auxiliatrice.
Italiano : Duomo di Treviso - Capella della Madonna - La statua lignea al centro dell'altare, opera recente (XIXe) di Ferdinand Stuflesser, artista della Val Gardena, rappresenta Maria Ausiliatrice.
Photo: 29 May 2016.
Source: Own work.
This file is copyrighted and has been released under a license which is incompatible with Facebook's licensing terms. It is not permitted to upload this file at Facebook.
This file is licensed under the Creative Commons
Author: Didier Descouens
(Wikimedia Commons)
Ultimately, Pope Leo XIII granted a Canonical Coronation towards the Marian image bearing the same Title on 17 May 1903, now permanently enshrined within the Basilica of Mary, Help of Christians, Turin, Italy.
There are two inscriptions from the first Centuries of Christianity, in Greek, related to The Virgin Mary: : θεοτοκος (Teotokos, Theotokos, Mother of God) and βοηθεια (Boetheia, The Helper). The Fathers of The Church referred to Mary as "βοηθεια". Saint John Chrysostom used the Title in a Sermon of 345 A.D., Proclus in 476 A.D., and Sebas of Cæsarea in 532 A.D.
After the Patristic Period (5th-Century A.D.), other persons used it, e.g., Romanos the Melodist in 518 A.D., the Patriarch of Jerusalem, Sophronius, in 560 A.D., John of Damascus in 749 A.D., and German of Constantinople in 733 A.D.
In the view of Fr. Johann G. Roten, SM, the Invocation of Mary as “Help of Christians” is part of the oldest Prayer addressed directly to Mary, the “Sub Tuum Præsidium”, which was found on a Papyrus dating, at the latest, from the end of the 3rd-Century A.D. “Præsidium” is translated as “an assistance given in time of War by fresh Troops in a strong manner.”[1]
Around 1576, Bernardino Cirillo, Arch-Priest of Loreto, published at Macerata, two Litanies of The Blessed Virgin, which, he contended, were used at Loreto. One is in a form which is entirely different from our present Text. Another form (“Aliæ litaniæ B.M.V.”) is identical to The Litany of Loreto approved by Pope Clement VIII in 1601 and now used throughout the entire Church.
This second form contains the Invocation “Auxilium Christianorum” (“Help of Christians”). Possibly, Soldiers returning from The Battle of Lepanto (7 October 1571) visited The Sanctuary of Loreto, and Saluted The Holy Virgin there for the first time with this new Title. It is more probable, however, that it is only a variation of the older Invocation “Advocata Christianorum”, found in a Litany of 1524.[2]
There are two inscriptions from the first Centuries of Christianity, in Greek, related to The Virgin Mary: : θεοτοκος (Teotokos, Theotokos, Mother of God) and βοηθεια (Boetheia, The Helper). The Fathers of The Church referred to Mary as "βοηθεια". Saint John Chrysostom used the Title in a Sermon of 345 A.D., Proclus in 476 A.D., and Sebas of Cæsarea in 532 A.D.
After the Patristic Period (5th-Century A.D.), other persons used it, e.g., Romanos the Melodist in 518 A.D., the Patriarch of Jerusalem, Sophronius, in 560 A.D., John of Damascus in 749 A.D., and German of Constantinople in 733 A.D.
Illustration from the Feast Day of Our Lady,
Help of Christians. 24 May.
Missale Romanum 1861.
Illustration: ZEPHYRINUS
Around 1576, Bernardino Cirillo, Arch-Priest of Loreto, published at Macerata, two Litanies of The Blessed Virgin, which, he contended, were used at Loreto. One is in a form which is entirely different from our present Text. Another form (“Aliæ litaniæ B.M.V.”) is identical to The Litany of Loreto approved by Pope Clement VIII in 1601 and now used throughout the entire Church.
This second form contains the Invocation “Auxilium Christianorum” (“Help of Christians”). Possibly, Soldiers returning from The Battle of Lepanto (7 October 1571) visited The Sanctuary of Loreto, and Saluted The Holy Virgin there for the first time with this new Title. It is more probable, however, that it is only a variation of the older Invocation “Advocata Christianorum”, found in a Litany of 1524.[2]
Our Lady, Help of Christians.
Patroness of Australia.
Available on YouTube at
The Feast of Our Lady, Help of Christians, was instituted by Pope Pius VII. By order of Emperor Napoleon I of France, Pope Pius VII was arrested on 5 June 1808, and detained as a prisoner, first at Grenoble, France, and then at Fontainebleau, France.[4]
In January 1814, after The Battle of Leipzig, he was brought back to Savona, Italy, and set free on 17 March 1814, on the eve of The Feast of Our Lady of Mercy, The Patroness of Savona. The journey to Rome was a veritable triumphal march. The Pontiff, attributing the Victory of The Church, after so much agony and distress, to The Blessed Virgin, visited many of her Sanctuaries on the way and Crowned her images (e.g., “The Madonna del Monte” at Cesena, “della Misericordia” at Treja, “della Colonne” and “della Tempestà” at Tolentino).
English: Statue of Madonna and Child
in Siegenfeld (Heiligenkreuz), Lower Austria.
Deutsch: Marienstatue, sog. Bauernmadonna, in der Cholerakapelle im Helenental, Ortsteil Siegenfeld, Gemeinde Heiligenkreuz, Niederösterreich.
Photo: 24 March 2019.
Source: Own work.
This file is licensed under the Creative Commons
Author: Andreas Stiasny
(Wikimedia Commons)
The people crowded the streets to catch a glimpse of the Venerable Pontiff who had so bravely withstood the threats of Napoleon. He entered Rome on 24 May 1814, and was enthusiastically welcomed.[5] To Commemorate his own sufferings and those of The Church during his Exile, Pope Pius VII extended The Feast of The Seven Dolours of Mary to The Universal Church on 18 September 1814.
When Napoleon left Elba and returned to Paris, Murat was about to march through The Papal States from Naples. Joachim-Napoléon Murat, 25 March 1767 – 13 October 1815, was a Marshal of The French Empire and Admiral, during the reign of Emperor Napoleon I. He was also the first Prince Murat, Grand Duke of Berg, from 1806 to 1808, and King of Naples from 1808 to 1815.
Murat received his Titles, in part, by being Napoleon’s brother-in-law through marriage to his younger sister, Caroline Bonaparte, as well as personal merit. He was noted as a daring, brave, and charismatic Cavalry Officer, as well as a flamboyant dresser, for which he was known as “The Dandy King”).
Pope Pius VII fled to Savona on 22 March 1815.[2] After The Congress of Vienna and the Battle of Waterloo, the Pope returned to Rome on 7 July 1815. To give thanks to God and Our Lady, on 15 September 1815, he declared 24 May, the Anniversary of his first return, to be henceforth the Feast of Our Lady, Help of Christians. The 1913 Catholic Encyclopædia Article commented that: “It has spread nearly over the entire Latin Church, but is not contained in the Universal Calendar.”
When Napoleon left Elba and returned to Paris, Murat was about to march through The Papal States from Naples. Joachim-Napoléon Murat, 25 March 1767 – 13 October 1815, was a Marshal of The French Empire and Admiral, during the reign of Emperor Napoleon I. He was also the first Prince Murat, Grand Duke of Berg, from 1806 to 1808, and King of Naples from 1808 to 1815.
Murat received his Titles, in part, by being Napoleon’s brother-in-law through marriage to his younger sister, Caroline Bonaparte, as well as personal merit. He was noted as a daring, brave, and charismatic Cavalry Officer, as well as a flamboyant dresser, for which he was known as “The Dandy King”).
Pope Pius VII fled to Savona on 22 March 1815.[2] After The Congress of Vienna and the Battle of Waterloo, the Pope returned to Rome on 7 July 1815. To give thanks to God and Our Lady, on 15 September 1815, he declared 24 May, the Anniversary of his first return, to be henceforth the Feast of Our Lady, Help of Christians. The 1913 Catholic Encyclopædia Article commented that: “It has spread nearly over the entire Latin Church, but is not contained in the Universal Calendar.”
Turin, Italy. Founded by Saint John Bosco.
Photo: March 2007.
Source: Own work.
Author: Franco56
(Wikimedia Commons)
The Marian Feast has been Celebrated by the Order of Servites since the 17th-Century. The Veneration to Mary became popular under this Title in Rome, especially, where the Feast was promoted by Saint John Bosco and Saint Vincent Pallotti. [6]
Saint John Bosco was an ardent promoter of Devotion to “Mary, Help of Christians”. He even built a huge Basilica in her honour in 1868 and Founded a Religious Congregation for Women, under the Title of “The Daughters of Mary, Help of Christians”.
Interpreting the painting he had commissioned inside the Basilica, Saint John Bosco referred to it as depicting “Mary, Mother of The Church”. This suggests an identical connection to the way in which Popes have addressed Mary as both Mother and Help of The Church. Recall the two Marian Greek attributions of θεοτοκος (Teotokos, Theotokos, Mother of God) and βοηθεια (Boetheia, The Helper) at the start of this Article. Saint John Bosco, in fact, chose this Devotion because of its affinity to his Devotion to “The Church, The Bearer of Christ”.
Vatican II, in the Constitution on The Church (Sections 61 and 62), cites this Title of Mary, placing it in the context of Mary’s Maternal Role. “In an utterly singular way, she co-operated by her Obedience, Faith, Hope and Burning Charity, in The Saviour’s Work of restoring Supernatural Life to Souls.
For this reason, she is a Mother to us in The Order of Grace . . . By her Maternal Charity, Mary cares for the Brethren of her Son, who still wander through this World in the midst of dangers and difficulties until they are led to the happiness of their Heavenly Home”.[7]
The Church has Traditionally focused on two aspects of Our Lady’s help on this Feast Day. Firstly, The Church focuses in this Feast on the role of Our Lady’s Intercession in the fight against sin in the life of a Believer. Secondly, The Church focuses on Our Lady as one who assists Christians as a community, through her Intercession, in fighting against anti-Christian forces.
Michael Daniel observes that, while this approach may be regarded as outdated, in light of Vatican II, where the World and non-Christian elements therein were seen in a positive rather than a hostile or threatening light, it would seem that it would be naïve on the part of Christians to regard all Movements and all Social Trends as either good or harmless.[7]
Saint John Bosco was an ardent promoter of Devotion to “Mary, Help of Christians”. He even built a huge Basilica in her honour in 1868 and Founded a Religious Congregation for Women, under the Title of “The Daughters of Mary, Help of Christians”.
Interpreting the painting he had commissioned inside the Basilica, Saint John Bosco referred to it as depicting “Mary, Mother of The Church”. This suggests an identical connection to the way in which Popes have addressed Mary as both Mother and Help of The Church. Recall the two Marian Greek attributions of θεοτοκος (Teotokos, Theotokos, Mother of God) and βοηθεια (Boetheia, The Helper) at the start of this Article. Saint John Bosco, in fact, chose this Devotion because of its affinity to his Devotion to “The Church, The Bearer of Christ”.
English: Stained-Glass Window of Our Lady,
Help of Christians. Church of Saint John the Baptist,
Ahrem, Germany.
Deutsch: Bleiglasfenster in der katholischen Pfarrkirche St. Johannes der Täufer, Ahrem, Darstellung: Anbetung der Madonna mit Kind.
Photo: 16 April 2011.
Source: Own work.
Author: Reinhardhauke
(Wikimedia Commons)
For this reason, she is a Mother to us in The Order of Grace . . . By her Maternal Charity, Mary cares for the Brethren of her Son, who still wander through this World in the midst of dangers and difficulties until they are led to the happiness of their Heavenly Home”.[7]
The Church has Traditionally focused on two aspects of Our Lady’s help on this Feast Day. Firstly, The Church focuses in this Feast on the role of Our Lady’s Intercession in the fight against sin in the life of a Believer. Secondly, The Church focuses on Our Lady as one who assists Christians as a community, through her Intercession, in fighting against anti-Christian forces.
Michael Daniel observes that, while this approach may be regarded as outdated, in light of Vatican II, where the World and non-Christian elements therein were seen in a positive rather than a hostile or threatening light, it would seem that it would be naïve on the part of Christians to regard all Movements and all Social Trends as either good or harmless.[7]
It became the Patronal Feast of Australasia, a “Double of The First-Class“ with an Octave.[9] After the Reforms of the Second Vatican Council, it was designated a Solemnity to be kept on the first available Sunday on or after 24 May.
The Fathers of the Foreign Missions of Paris, in accordance with a Vow (1891), Celebrated this Feast Day with great splendour in their Churches.
It has attained special renown since Don Bosco, Founder of the Salesian Congregation, Dedicated his Foundation to Our Lady, Help of Christians, The Mother Church of his Congregation at Turin, Italy, on 9 June 1868. The Salesians have carried the Devotion to their numerous establishments around the World.
It was established due to the great appreciation of Saint Don Bosco for this Marian Title, and the development of the Salesian Works in many Countries since the second-half of the 19th-Century. Although it is commonly associated with the Roman Catholic Church, the Orthodox Church has also known the Devotion since 1030 in Ukraine, when the Country was defended from a barbarian invasion.
The Abbey of Mary, Help of Christians, better known as Belmont Abbey, is a small American Monastery of Benedictine Monks in the Town of Belmont, Gaston County, North Carolina, outside of Charlotte, North Carolina. The Minor Basilica of Our Lady, Help of Christians, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[11]
There is a Chapel of Our Lady, Help of Christians, at the Basilica of The Immaculate Conception in Washington D.C.[12]
Under this Title, The Virgin Mary is Venerated by many Chinese Catholics, particularly at the Shrine of Our Lady of Sheshan. In May 2007, Pope Benedict XVI designated 24 May her Feast Day for the Roman Catholics in China, who face persecution and restriction from The Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association.
On 17 May 1903, Pope Leo XIII granted a Canonical Coronation to the famed image through his Papal Legate, Cardinal Agostino Richelmy, which is now permanently enshrined within the Basilica of Our Lady, Help of Christians, in Turin, Italy.
The High Altar, Mariahilferkirche
(Our Lady, Help of Christians) Church,
Haydnplatz, Vienna, Austria.
Photo: 27 December 2005.
Source: Own work.
This File: 16 February 2006.
User: Gryffindor
(Wikimedia Commons)
On 24 May 2009, Pope Benedict XVI, during his Regina Cæli Papal Address, invoked this Marian Patronage, under The Venerated Title of Our Mother of Sheshan, calling for Chinese Catholics to renew their fidelity to the Pope as the sole successor of Saint Peter.[14]
On 23 March 2018, Pope Francis granted a Papal Bull for the Canonical Coronation of a namesake Seminary in San Fabian, Pangasinan, Philippines. The image is notable for having been gifted to the Philippine Islands by the Apostolic Delegate, Monsignor Guillermo Piani, S.D.B., while the privilege of Blue Coloured Vestments was invoked by the Papal Legate.
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