The title of Our Lady of Perpetual Help was given to the Blessed Virgin Mary by Blessed Pope Pius IX in association with the thirteenth century Byzantine icon which was brought to Rome from Crete at the end of the fifteenth century. The Blessed Virgin Mary herself chose the location for her sanctuary, having revealed to a little child that “I desire to have my home between my beloved Church of Saint Mary Major and that of my dear adopted son, John” (St. John Lateran). It was in the Via Merulana that Pope Cletus lived, and it was there in his house that he built an oratory dedicated to Saint Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, and accommodated pilgrims visiting the tombs of the Apostles. In the fourth century the oratory was replaced by a church which was restored and re-consecrated by Pope Paschal II in 1110.
In the fifteenth century Pope Sixtus IV gave the church to Irish friars of the Augustinian Order, and in 1499 the icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help was installed above the high altar. During the Napoleonic invasion of Rome, the Church of Saint Matthew and its monastery were destroyed, but the miraculous icon was saved and placed for safe-keeping at the monastery of Saint Eusebius where the friars of Saint Matthew’s remained until Rome was liberated in 1814 and Pope Pius VII returned from his imprisonment in France. The Pope then gave the friars the nearby palace and Church of Santa Maria in Posterula, and the icon was placed in their private oratory. In 1854 Blessed Pope Pius IX decided that the Father-General of the Redemptorists should reside in Rome. In the following year construction of a church and monastery of Saint Alphonsus began on the Via Merulana.
In December 1865 later Blessed Pope Pius IX ordered the icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help to be returned to its place between the Basilicas of Santa Maria Maggiore and San Giovanni in Laterano, “a stone's throw” from its original location in the old Church of Saint Matthew. On the 26th of April 1866 the icon was welcomed back after a grand public procession, and the festivities ended on the 29th of April with Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament and the singing of the Te Deum. The Church soon became one of the most venerated of all the Roman sanctuaries of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The shrine became so remarkable for its miracles and wonders and the number of pilgrims visiting, that the Vatican Chapter of Saint Peter decided to bestow on the holy icon its honour of Coronation.
On 23 June 1867, after a Pontifical Mass and the solemn singing of the 'Te Deum,' the Patriarch of Constantinople ascended the high altar holding two gold crowns, placing one diadem on the head of the infant Jesus and the other on the head of his Blessed Mother. Each year the Coronation is commemorated by the Redemptorists with a special Office and Mass. There are more than 3,000 authentic copies of the icon, each of which has been blessed by the Pope and sealed and signed by the Father-General of the Redemptorists.
In Galatia, St. Crescens, a disciple of the blessed Apostle St. Paul. In passing through Gaul he converted many to the Christian faith by his preaching. Returning to the people for whom especially he had been made bishop, he maintained, to the end of his life, the Galatians in the service of the Lord, and finally consummated his martyrdom under Trajan.
At Cordova, St. Zoilus, and nineteen other martyrs.
At Caesarea in Palestine, in the persecution of Diocletian under the governor Urbanus, St. Anectus, martyr. For having exhorted others to suffer martyrdom and overthrown idols by his prayers, he was scourged by ten soldiers, had his hands and feet cut off, and by decapitation merited the crown of martyrdom.
At Constantinople, St. Sampson, a priest who harboured the poor.
At Warasdin in Hungary, the holy king Ladislas, greatly renowned to this day for miracles.
And in other places, many other holy martyrs, confessors and virgins.
Thanks be to God.
In the fifteenth century Pope Sixtus IV gave the church to Irish friars of the Augustinian Order, and in 1499 the icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help was installed above the high altar. During the Napoleonic invasion of Rome, the Church of Saint Matthew and its monastery were destroyed, but the miraculous icon was saved and placed for safe-keeping at the monastery of Saint Eusebius where the friars of Saint Matthew’s remained until Rome was liberated in 1814 and Pope Pius VII returned from his imprisonment in France. The Pope then gave the friars the nearby palace and Church of Santa Maria in Posterula, and the icon was placed in their private oratory. In 1854 Blessed Pope Pius IX decided that the Father-General of the Redemptorists should reside in Rome. In the following year construction of a church and monastery of Saint Alphonsus began on the Via Merulana.
In December 1865 later Blessed Pope Pius IX ordered the icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help to be returned to its place between the Basilicas of Santa Maria Maggiore and San Giovanni in Laterano, “a stone's throw” from its original location in the old Church of Saint Matthew. On the 26th of April 1866 the icon was welcomed back after a grand public procession, and the festivities ended on the 29th of April with Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament and the singing of the Te Deum. The Church soon became one of the most venerated of all the Roman sanctuaries of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The shrine became so remarkable for its miracles and wonders and the number of pilgrims visiting, that the Vatican Chapter of Saint Peter decided to bestow on the holy icon its honour of Coronation.
On 23 June 1867, after a Pontifical Mass and the solemn singing of the 'Te Deum,' the Patriarch of Constantinople ascended the high altar holding two gold crowns, placing one diadem on the head of the infant Jesus and the other on the head of his Blessed Mother. Each year the Coronation is commemorated by the Redemptorists with a special Office and Mass. There are more than 3,000 authentic copies of the icon, each of which has been blessed by the Pope and sealed and signed by the Father-General of the Redemptorists.
Almighty and everlasting God who has given us to venerate an image of your most blessed Mother under the special invocation of Our Perpetual Help, grant graciously, that amid all the changes of this our way and life, we may be so defended by the constant protection of that same Immaculate and ever-Virgin Mary, as to be able to obtain the reward of your eternal redemption. Through Our Lord ...On this day according to the ROMAN MARTYROLOGY:
In Galatia, St. Crescens, a disciple of the blessed Apostle St. Paul. In passing through Gaul he converted many to the Christian faith by his preaching. Returning to the people for whom especially he had been made bishop, he maintained, to the end of his life, the Galatians in the service of the Lord, and finally consummated his martyrdom under Trajan.
At Cordova, St. Zoilus, and nineteen other martyrs.
At Caesarea in Palestine, in the persecution of Diocletian under the governor Urbanus, St. Anectus, martyr. For having exhorted others to suffer martyrdom and overthrown idols by his prayers, he was scourged by ten soldiers, had his hands and feet cut off, and by decapitation merited the crown of martyrdom.
At Constantinople, St. Sampson, a priest who harboured the poor.
At Warasdin in Hungary, the holy king Ladislas, greatly renowned to this day for miracles.
And in other places, many other holy martyrs, confessors and virgins.
Thanks be to God.
