Our Lady Mary, Help of Christians is a Catholic title of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The feast of Our Lady, Help of Christians, was instituted by Pope Pius VII after he attributed the victory of the church after so much agony and distress to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
We celebrate her feast day on May 24 every year in the Catholic Church.
Our Lady Help Of Christians is the Patron Saint of
• Australia (proclaimed on 17 July 1916 by Pope Benedict XV)
• New Zealand
• Andorran security forces
• Australian military chaplains
• New York
• Diocese of Shrewsbury, England
• Diocese of Townsville, Australia
| Our Lady Help Of Christians – Feast Day – May 24 | |
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| Feast Day | May 24 |
| Patron Saint of | Australia (proclaimed on 17 July 1916 by Pope Benedict XV) • New Zealand • Andorran security forces • Australian military chaplains • New York • Diocese of Shrewsbury, England • Diocese of Townsville, Australia |
Our Lady Help Of Christians History
The feast of Our Lady, Help of Christians, was instituted by Pope Pius VII. By order of Napoleon, the Pope was arrested on July 5 1808, and imprisoned at Savona, Italy and Fontainebleau, France.
In January 1814, after the Battle of Leipzig, he was brought back to Savona and set free on March 17, the eve of the feast of Our Lady of Mercy, the patroness of Savona.
The journey to Rome was a veritable triumphal march with the pontiff, attributing the victory of the Church after so much agony and distress, to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
He visited many of her sanctuaries on the way, crowning her images, and entered Rome on May 24 1814 to enthusiastic crowds.
To commemorate his own sufferings and those of the Church during his exile he extended the feast of the Seven Dolours of Mary to the universal Church on September 18 1814.
When Napoleon left Elba and returned to Paris, Murat was about to march through the Papal States from Naples. Pius VII fled to Savona on March 22 1815, where he crowned the image of Our Lady of Mercy on May 10 1815.
Following the Congress of Vienna and Battle of Waterloo, he returned to Rome on July 7 1815. To give thanks to God and Our Lady, he instituted the feast of Our Lady, Help of Christians for the Papal States on September 15 1815; it was celebrated on May 24, the anniversary of his first return.
The dioceses in the Tuscany region adopted it on February 12 1816, and it spread over nearly the entire Latin Church.
The hymns of the Office were composed by Brandimarte. It is the patronal feast of Australasia, a double of the first class with an octave, and is celebrated with great splendour in the churches of the Fathers of the Foreign Missions of Paris.
It has attained special celebrity since Saint John Bosco dedicated the mother church of his congregation at Turin to Our Lady, Help of Christians.
Today’s Catholic Quote:
The Salesian Fathers have carried the devotion to their numerous establishments, and prayers for her intervention are credited with the miraculous cure of Blessed Artemide Zatti.
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