Feast of Our Mother of Perpetual Help
June 27 marks the feast of Our Mother of Perpetual Help. Our Mother of Perpetual Help is the title of the Blessed Virgin Mary as represented in a celebrated 15th-century Byzantine icon also associated with the same Marian apparition. The icon originated from the Keras Kardiotissas Monastery and has been in Rome since 1499. Today it is permanently enshrined in the Church of Saint Alphonsus, where the official Novena to Our Mother of Perpetual Help text is prayed weekly.
The Redemptorist Congregation of priest and brothers are the only religious order currently entrusted by the Holy See to protect and propagate a Marian religious work of art. In the Eastern Orthodox Church iconography, the image is known as the ”Virgin Theotokos of the Passion” due to the instruments of the Passion of Jesus Christ present on the image.
On June 23, 1867, Pope Pius IX granted the image its Canonical Coronation along with its present title. The feast day of the image is celebrated on June 27, with novena devotions held every Wednesday. Under Pope Pius XII’s Pontificate, the image was designated as the national Patroness of the Republic of Haiti and Almoradi, Spain. In addition, Pope John Paul II issued a canonical coronation for a similar image in Jaworzno, Poland in June, 1999.
Due to the propagation of Redemptorist priests since 1865, the image has become very popular among Roman Catholics. Modern reproductions are often displayed in residential homes, commercial establishments, and public transportation.