Feast of Mary Help of Christians

Feast day : 24 May

Today the Church celebrates the Feast of Mary Help of Christians. Like the title 'Mother of God', the title 'Help of Christians' is one of the popular titles attributed to the Blessed Virgin's role in the Church. This title was first used by Saint John Chrysostom in the year AD 345 as a devotion to the Virgin Mary. Later It became a title associated with the defense of Christians during the Middle Ages.

Early history:

In 1572, during the invasion of the Islamic Ottoman Empire into Christian Europe, Pope Pius V invoked the intercession of the Virgin Mary under this title and the consequent victory of the Christian armies was attributed to this title. In 1576, Rev. Bernardino Cirillo, Archpriest of Loreto published a litany in honor of the Blessed Virgin which contained the invocation of this title Auxilium Christianorum (Help of Christians). This litany was later found to be identical to the Litany of Loreto which was published by Pope Clement VIII in 1601. Though the victory in the Lepanto battle was attributed to the title 'Our Lady of the Rosary', the title 'Help of Christians' may have been used by the warriors of the Battle of Lepanto (October 7, 1571) to salute the intercession and aid of Our Lady Help of Christians which won them their victory.

1800's:

In 1808, by the order of Napoleon I of France, Pope Pius VII was arrested on June 5 and detained as a prisoner. After almost six years, when the battle of Leipzig was over, he was brought back to Savona and set free on March 17, on the eve of the Feast of Our Lady of Mercy, the Patroness of Savona. His journey back to Rome was a triumphal victory march and he attributed the victory of the Church after so many years of agony and suffering to the Blessed Virgin. He visited many of her sanctuaries on the way and crowned her images. He entered Rome on May 24, 1814 and was welcomed by large crowds of people. To commemorate his own suffering 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 September 18, 1814.

A year later when Napoleon left Elba and returned to Paris, Murat was about to march through the Papal States. Pope Pius VII again fled to Savona on 22 March 1815. After the Congress of Vienna and the battle of Waterloo was over, the Pope returned to Rome on July 7, 1815. As a sign of thanksgiving to God and to Our Lady, on 15 September 1815 he declared 24 May, which was the anniversary of his first return to Rome, to be henceforth the feast of Our Lady, Help of Christians.

The veneration to Our Lady Help of Christians became popular from thereon in Rome where the feast was especially promoted by Saint John Bosco and Saint Vincent Pallotti. St. John Bosco had a special devotion to this title of the Blessed Virgin Mary and he built a huge Basilica to ‘Mary Help of Christians’ in Turin in 1868. He also founded a religious Congregation for women, under the title of "The Daughters of Mary, Help of Christians". The Salesians have carried the devotion to their numerous establishments around the world. On 17 May 1903, Pope Leo XIII granted a Canonical coronation to the famed image of Mary Help of Christians through his Papal legate, Cardinal Agostino Richelmy. It is now permanently enshrined within the Basilica of Our Lady Help of Christians in Turin, Italy. In 1844, the same Pontiff instructed the Sacred Congregation of Rites to assign Mary, under this devotional title as the official patroness of Australia. She is also the patron saint of New Zealand; and since 1924, of China.

The Blessed Virgin is venerated by many Chinese Catholics, particularly at the Shrine of our Lady of Sheshan. In May 2007, Pope Benedict XVI designated the Feast of May 24th as the feast for the Roman Catholics in China, who face persecution and restriction from the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association.

On 24 May 2009, Pope Benedict XVI during his Regina Coeli 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.