Our Lady of Perpetual Help
Our Lady of Perpetual Help (or Our Lady of Perpetual Succour (or Succor)) or "Sancta Mater de Perpetuo Succursu" (official Latin title) Holy Mother of Perpetual Help is a Marian title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary by Pope Pius IX, associated with a celebrated Byzantine art icon of the same name dated from the 15th century. The icon has been in Rome since at least the late 15th century, and is currently in the Church of St. Alphonsus Liguori, Rome. The Eastern Orthodox Church calls this iconography the Virgin of the Passion or Theotokos of the Passion due to the presence of instruments of the crucifixion prominently featured on the image.
Some Roman Catholics believe the icon to be a true copy of the painting that Saint Luke legendarily painted from the life using the meal table of the Holy Family of Nazareth, and in Eastern Orthodox tradition often identifies this Marian icon with the Hodegetria icon,[1], and both Latin Church and Eastern Orthodox Church communities consider it a miraculous imprint of the Blessed Virgin Mary.[1] The icon is renowned and unique due to the eyes of the Virgin looking onwards to the faithful, while pointing her hands to her son, Jesus Christ.
Due to the Redemptorist Priests appointed as missionaries of this icon, the image has become very popular among Roman Catholics in particular, and has been very much copied and reproduced. Modern reproductions are sometimes displayed in residential homes, business establishments, public transportation or elsewhere. For many centuries, Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians have prayed to the Blessed Virgin Mary for intercession on their behalf to Jesus Christ.
On the current feast of Roman Catholic calendar of saints, Our Lady of Perpetual Help is commemorated on June 27, while common established days for novena prayers are customarily held every Wednesdays.
Description
The original wooden icon suspended in the altar measures 17" × 21" inches and is painted on hard nut wood with a gold leaf background.[2] The image depicts the Blessed Virgin Mary wearing a dress of dark red, representing the Passion of Jesus with a blue mantle representing her perpetual virginity and cloaked veil which represents her pure modesty. On the left side is the Saint Archangel Michael, carrying the lance and sponge of the crucifixion of Jesus. On the right is the Saint Archangel Gabriel carrying a Patriarchal cross used by Popes at the time and Holy Nails. The Virgin Mary has a star on her forehead, signifying her role as Star of the Sea while the cross on the side has been claimed as to the Cretan school which has produced this icon. Throughout centuries, Roman Art Scholars have noted that the old Byzantine depictions of the Blessed Virgin Mary has three stars, one star each on the shoulder and one on the forehead. This type of icon is called Hodegetria composition, where Saint Mary is also pointing to her Son, known as a Theotokos of the Passion.[3]
The Greek inscriptions read 'MP-ΘΥ (Μήτηρ Θεού, Mother of God); OAM (Archangel Michael); OAΓ (Archangel Gabriel); and Iς-Xς ( Ἰησοῦς Χριστός, Jesus Christ ), respectively. The icon is painted with a gold background on a walnut panel which was probably painted in the islands of Crete, which at the time was then ruled by the Republic of Venice.[4] The Cretan School was the source of the many icons imported into Europe from the late Middle Ages through the Renaissance. The icon was cleaned and restored once in 1866 and again in the year 1940.
Origin and Discovery
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The earliest written account of the image comes from a Latin and Italian plaque placed in the church of San Matteo in Via Merulana where it was first venerated by the public in 1499.[5] The writer of the icon is unknown, but according a parchment attached to the painting[6] that accompanied the icon, it was stolen by a merchant from Crete who was sailing to Rome. The merchant sailed and hid the icon while traveling at sea, until a storm hit hard and the sailors prayed to the icon for help.[7] When the merchant arrived in Rome he fell ill, and as he was dying wish he asked a second merchant to place the icon in a church where it could serve for veneration.[7] Initially, the merchant was reluctant in giving away the icon and took four instances until the second merchant confided to his wife about the icon. Upon seeing the beautiful icon, the woman refused to give it to the church but instead hung it in their home. Later on, the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared to the merchant's daughter, grandmother and neighbor, who implored that the icon be turned over to a parish.[6] The Virgin Mary allegedly appeared to the little girl that the icon ought to be placed between the basilicas of St. Mary Major and St. John Lateran. The wife gave the icon to the Augustinian Friars. On March 27, 1499, the icon was transferred to the church of San Matteo where it remained for 300 years.[6]
Transfer & Restoration
In 1798, Gubernatore André Masséna, who was then the pro-consul and governor of Rome, had decided to destroy and pillage several churches in the city for the usage of infantry bases. The church of San Matteo in the Via Merulana was one of these. The Augustian friars rescued the icon at night to the nearby Church of St. Eusebius, then later set it up on a side altar in the Church of Santa Maria in Posterula. Decades later, Pope Pius IX invited the Redemptorist Fathers to set up a Marian house of veneration in Rome, in response to which the Redemptorists built the Church of St. Alphonsus Liguori at that location. The Redemptorists were thus established on the Via Merulana, coincidentally not knowing that it had once been the site of the Church of San Mateo and original spot of the once-famous icon.[6]
Present caretaker
The Superior General of the Redemptorists, Father Nicholas Mauron, brought the urgent matter to the attention of Pope Pius IX, who later decided the icon should certainly be exposed to public veneration and given an official Marian title. The current site chosen by Pope Pius IX was the Church of St. Alphonse, standing as it did on the site where it had formerly been venerated. In 1866, Pope Pius IX wrote a short memorandum ordering the Augustinian friars to surrender the icon to the Redemptorist priests, on condition that the Redemptorists must supply the Augustinians with another picture of Our Lady of Perpetual Help or a good copy of the icon in exchange as a gesture of goodwill.[7]
Pope Pius IX's instructions to the Redemptorist priests were:
11 December 1865
The Cardinal Prefect will call the Superior of the little community of Santa Maria in Posterula and will tell him it is our will that the image of the Most Holy Mary, of which this petition treats, be returned between St. John’s and St. Mary Major’s. However, the Superior of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer is obliged to substitute another suitable picture.
Pope Pius IX
Upon its official transfer, Pope Pius IX finally gave his Apostolic Blessing and titled the icon Mater de Perpetuo Succursu" or "Our Mother of Perpetual Help. On June 23, 1867, the image was canonically crowned by the Dean of the Vatican Chapter in a solemn and official recognition of the Marian icon under that title.[8] On April 21, 1866, the Redemptorist Superior General gave one of the first copies of the icon to Pope Pius IX. This copy is preserved in the chapel of the Redemptorists' Generalate in Rome. The original icon remains under the care of the Redemptorist Fathers at the Church of St. Alphonsus with the latest restoration of the icon having taken place in 1995, when the crowns and jewels were removed and the original gold foiling was restored to the icon.[9]
Religious Veneration
Since then, the Blessed Virgin Mary as Our Lady of Perpetual Help has been venerated, having been popularized among many cultures and under several titles in different languages such as Nuestra Señora del Perpetuo Socorro, Notre-Dame du Perpétuel Secours, Mater de Perpetuo Succursu, Ina ng Laging Saklolo, and Mother of Perpetual Succour. In addition to this, Our Lady of Perpetual Help has been the national patron saint of Haiti.[10]
Filipino Veneration of Our Mother of Perpetual Help
Among Roman Catholics in the Philippines and various Filipino communities worldwide, Our Lady of Perpetual Help is widely venerated. Pope John Paul II held mass at the National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help in Baclaran, Philippines where the devotion is very popular. Many Roman Catholic churches hold a solemn Holy Rosary, Novena, Benediction and Eucharistic Mass honoring every Wednesday using a replica of the icon, which is also widely displayed in houses, buses and public transport in the Philippines.[11][12][13] Devotions to the icon have spread from the Philippines to the United States, and remain popular among various Filipino communities.[14][15] The Perpetual Help Novena uses the same Wednesday novena booklet initially published by the Redemptorist Fathers from Ireland who introduced the icon to the Philippines in the early 20th century. Many Roman Catholic parishes with Filipino communities abroad have also adopted the same tradition of the solemn Wednesday novena.
Haitian Veneration of Notre Dame du Perpetuel Secours
The Republic of Haiti honors the Blessed Virgin Mary under the French title of 'Notre Dame du Perpetuel Secours as the patroness of the country. In February 5, 1882, the Virgin Mary, under this title is widely credited by Haitians for curing a widespread epidemic of Smallpox (locally termed as verettes) which ravaged the country. In 1942, the bishops of Haiti, along with President Élie Lescot and his presidential cabinet, petitioned the Holy See to invoke Our Mother of Perpetual Help has the patroness of their country. Many Roman Catholic schools, parishes and postage stamps in Haiti are dedicated to Mary under this Marian title. Haitian devotees of Perpetual Help enshrine a copy of an icon in their home, parishes and schools as a personal reminder of Roman Catholicism in their country.
Pope Benedict XVI message to Haitians:
I am present among you through Cardinal Robert Sarah, president of the Pontifical Council ‘Cor Unum’. With his presence and his voice, he brings you my encouragement and affection,. I entrust you to the intercession of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, patroness of Haiti who, I am sure, in heaven, is not indifferent to your prayers. May God bless all Haitians!”
P.P. Benedictus XVI
Singaporean Veneration of Our Mother of Perpetual Succour
The town of Novena, Singapore, was named in honor of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour in 1938 upon arrival of the Redemptorist missionary priests in Singapore as they spread Novenas which are held every Saturdays as opposed to the traditional Wednesday Novena. The church of Saint Alphonsus Liguori was so popular among the Singaporean faithful that they referred to its as the Perpetual Novena church.
See also
References
- ^ a b Our Mother of Perpetual Help
- ^ Fest-schrift zum Andenken an die Wieder-Eröffnung der St. Peter's Kirche, St. Peter's Church Philadelphia, 1901, page 93
- ^ Types of Theotokos of the Passion
- ^ Icons and saints of the Eastern Orthodox Church by Alfredo Tradigo 2006 ISBN 0892368454 page 188
- ^ Mother of Perpetual Help
- ^ a b c d Our Mother of Perpetual Help History
- ^ a b c Ann Ball, 2003 Encyclopedia of Catholic Devotions and Practices ISBN 0-87973-910-X pages 431-433
- ^ [http://www.wf-f.org/OurMotherofPerpetualHelp.html Our Mother of Perpetual Help June 27th]
- ^ The History of the Icon
- ^ patrons of Haiti
- ^ Vatican website: Pope John Paul II in the Philippines
- ^ Culture and customs of the Philippines by Paul A. Rodell 2001 ISBN 0313304157 page 58
- ^ Relations between religions and cultures in Southeast Asia by Donny Gahral Adian, Gadis Arivia 2009 ISBN 1565182502 page 129
- ^ Asian American religions by Tony Carnes, Fenggang Yang 2004 ISBN 081471630X page 355
- ^ Religion at the corner of bliss and nirvana by By Lois Ann Lorentzen 2009 ISBN 0822345471 pages 278-280
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Our Lady of Perpetual Succour". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
- Encyclopedia of Catholic Devotions and Practices; Ann Ball;2003;Our Sunday Visitor Publishing;ISBN 087973910X
Further reading
- The Story of an Icon: The Full History, Tradition and Spirituality of the Popular Icon of Our Mother of Perpetual Help; Fabriciano Ferrero;Redemptorist Publications; 2002; ISBN 978-0852312193