OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL HELP

Mary is that splendid star that rises above the vastness of the sea, brilliant by her merits, shining by her examples. O you who feel yourself to be far from land, swept away by the currents of the world in the midst of storms and tempests, take not your eyes off the light of this star if you do not wish to sink. If the wind of temptations blows, if the reef of tribulations threatens the way, look at the star, call on Mary. If you are tossed by the waves of pride, ambition, detraction, or jealousy, look at the star, call on Mary. If anger, avarice, or impure desires buffet the vessel of your soul, look at Mary. If, troubled by the enormity of your crimes, shamed by the turpitudes on your conscience, frightened by the dread of judgment you begin to slide into sadness or slip into despair, think of Mary. In perils, in anguish, in doubts, think of Mary, invoke Mary.¹

The star is also the symbol of virginity. On the veil of the icon of the Virgin of the Passion, we see three, since Mary is Virgin before, during, and after childbirth. The wide halo that encircles her head is artistically embellished. Above the Madonna's head read four letters in Greek – beginning and ending initials which mean "Mother of God,".

The divine Child is seated on His Mother's left arm; he is not clothed as a child, but as a man. He wears a green tunic secured by a red sash and partly covered by a deep yellow cloak. His head is also encircled by a halo, a little less wide and ornate than that of the Madonna, but marked by a cross. Above His left shoulder, at His eye level, we read these letters: IC-XC, that is, "Jesus Christ").

The Child does not look at His Mother, but looks back and turns His eyes towards a vision that fixes His gaze and impresses on his gentle features a look of fright. What is the vision? Two angels, one on the right, St. Gabriel, who presents Him with the cross and four nails; the other, on the left, St. Michael, who carries in a sacred vessel the instruments of the Passion: the lance which will pierce Jesus' side, and the reed.

The image is not just a representation, but a liturgical celebration. We can identify the two angels, because each one bears the Greek inscription of his name above his head: on the right, O ^APT  for "Archangel Gabriel" , whose name means "God is my strength"), and, on the left, O ^APM for "Archangel Michael", whose name means "Who is like unto God?). The entire history of salvation is summed up by the presence of these two celestial spirits: Gabriel, the angel of the Incarnation, and Michael, angel of the victory over the Dragon.

At the extremities of the arc of the covenant were two cherubim facing each other, dominating the propitiatory, a sort of great plate in gold on which the high priest, once a year, poured the blood of the victim. Here it is the Archangels Gabriel and Michael who flank the ark of the new, covenant, the Theotokos (Mother of God), bearing the instruments for immolation of the victim. Jesus turns His face toward the new propitiatory, the cross, on which the Lamb of God will be immolated as propitiatory sacrifice.

At the sight of these instruments of death, the Child seeks the protection of His Mother and seizes her right hand, symbol of strength. The two little hands clasping the thumb of Mary's hand are in the center of the icon: the most important place. Jesus asks His Mother to lend Him "a strong hand" and we know that she will do that to the bitter end, standing at the foot of the Cross.

This majestic hand holding the two little hands of the Child indicates Mary's universal mediation, but her attitude–her head inclined toward her Son and her right hand pointing to Him–reminds us that Jesus is our salvation. It is a wonderful representation of the Auxilium Christianorum, of her who is the perpetual help of Christians.

But what especially characterizes this image is the Madonna's expression, which perfectly reflects the scene we have just described. In the look Mary directs to onlookers, as in her entire countenance, one perceives an indefinable, sweet sadness mixed with tender compassion, a perfect commentary on the word of the old man Simeon: "A sword will pierce your heart" (Lk. 2:35). It is the face of the Co-redemptrix, Our Lady of Seven Sorrows.

She also has seen the cross presented to her Son: her heart suffers, but with what calm, what serenity, what celestial resignation! It seems that the terror of the Divine Child in the presence of the instruments of torture which are shown to Him have reminded Mary of her other children on earth, painfully making their way in sorrow and tears, and too often alarmed by the sight of their cross.

Under the impression of the pity she feels, her mouth remains closed, for the Fiat has been pronounced. She remains silent, but by squeezing the little left hand, that of the heart, she seems to confirm her accord and say to us:

I am the mother of fair love, and of fear, and of knowledge, and of holy hope. In me is all grace of the way and of the truth, in me is all hope of life and of virtue. Come over to me....He that hearkeneth to me shall not be confounded, and they that work by me shall not sin.²

There remains one odd but meaningful detail to mention: the Child is losing the sandal of His left foot! Some commentators explain it as an effect of the Child's fright. At the sight of the instruments of the Passion, scared, He would have thrown Himself into His mother's arms, breaking the strap of His sandal in His haste. But a child who is afraid turns his eyes away. Here Jesus, faced with the Passion offered to Him by His Father through the tokens presented by the celestial messengers, consents.

Now, we know that there was a Jewish custom that consisted of taking off one's shoe and giving it to the neighbor in order to symbolize the transfer of ownership by inheritance or by sale. Thus, when Booz prepared to buy a parcel sold by Noemi, the kinsman who yielded his right of purchase to Booz removed his sandal as a testimony of cession of right (Ruth 4:7). In other words, Jesus seems to declare here: "I remove my sandal and give it to you to signify that you no longer owe me anything! I pay the price needed to redeem you, to be loved by you."

This gesture also occurs in the Levitical law expressed in Deuteronomy 25:5: "When brethren dwell together, and one of them dieth without children, the wife of the deceased shall not marry to another: but his brother shall take her, and raise up seed for his brother." If the brother-in-law refuses his right,...the widow "shall come to him before the ancients, and shall take off his shoe from his foot, and spit in his face, and say: So shall it be done to the man that will not build up his brother's house" (Deut. 25:9). In His Passion, Jesus no longer has His sandals, they spit on Him and mock Him.

Lastly, on June 23, 1867, Msgr. Louis Antici-Mattei, Archbishop of Constantinople, solemnly crowned the image with a golden diadem offered by the chapter of the Vatican basilica. Ever since, the Popes have not ceased to personally honor it and to enrich the devotion to Our Lady of Perpetual Help:

Pope Pius IX, as we have seen, came and prostrated himself before the miraculous image. The Redemptorists offered him a copy, which he placed in his private oratory and ordered that a candle burn before it continuously. When the Russians of Zotomir asked him to send them the most venerated Madonna of Rome, Pius IX sent them an image of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Pope Leo XIII had it ever before his eyes because he kept in his office a little image of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. When Pope St. Pius X received the extraordinary visit of Menelik II, Emperor of Ethiopia on October 7, 1907, he offered his wife, the Empress Taitou, a reproduction of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. He attached an indulgence of 300 days to the invocation: "Mother of Perpetual Help, pray for us." Pope Benedict XV had a copy of Our Lady of Perpetual Help above his throne and allowed the Redemptorists to add to the Litanies of Loreto after "Mother of Good Counsel" "Mother of Perpetual Help, pray for us." Pope Pius XI approved the novena in honor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help: it involves honoring Our Lady of Perpetual Help on nine consecutive Saturdays. Pope Pius XII allowed the transfer of this novena of nine Saturdays to the following Sundays. After the ceremony of canonization of St. Maria Goretti, Pius XII offered the mother, present at her daughter's canonization, a precious icon in silver representing Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Pope Paul VI allowed the transfer of the nine consecutive Saturdays to any weekday for nine consecutive weeks.

"Our Lady of Perpetual Help, pray that the Names of Jesus and Mary be the breath of my soul!"

HISTORY OF THE PICTURE

Salus Populi Romaini

In a leaflet by a certain Fr. Segalen, which at least has the merit of being well-illustrated, he asserts:

Many believed in centuries past that it was a portrait of the Blessed Virgin Mary painted by the hand of St. Luke. It is for this reason that they called this icon "The Virgin of St. Luke." We know that that is a legend, but a legend that rests on a fact: the Gospel according to St. Luke offers us the most beautiful portrait of the Virgin Mary.

We would like to know how Fr. Segalen knows that it was not St. Luke who originally painted this image. Today, what man can neither explain nor verify he qualifies as "legend," using this word not with its original meaning of "that which must be read," but as meaning a fable.

St. Luke, a doctor by training, was a cultivated man. He did not know our Lord, but he was closely acquainted with the Mother of God, which allowed him to reveal to us in his Gospel the secrets of which only Mary had been witness.

A very serious, if not absolutely certain, tradition teaches us that St. Luke was also a painter. From his intimate relationship with Mary undoubtedly was born his desire to transmit to the faithful not only a glimpse of the soul of the most holy Virgin, but also the traits of her countenance. Which is what he did.

Tradition relates that the Blessed Virgin, on seeing the portrait, attached to it this blessing: " Gratia mea eam comitabitur–My favor will always accompany this image." This story is recounted notably by Fr. Henze, the author who has most carefully studied the entire history of this miraculous painting.³

Another portrait attributed to St. Luke is venerated in a side chapel of the Church of St. Mary Major at Rome under the title Salus Populi Romani. A number of similarities exist between the two icons.

Two recent facts would uphold the tradition which recognizes in this painting a portrait of the Blessed Virgin. When this icon was shown to St. Bernadette, she recognized in it the traits of the Lady who had appeared at the grotto of Massabielle: "Bernadette was shown a collection of engravings all of which portrayed the Blessed Virgin. When shown the Virgin of St. Luke," writes Fr. Cros, "Bernadette pointed to it, saying, 'There is something there!...' As for the other images, she only looked on them indifferently."⁴

And Sister Lucy responded similarly to Fr. McGlynn, who asked her what the Virgin looked like: "Her face is the same as that of Our Lady of Perpetual Help."⁵

This image was venerated at Jerusalem for nearly four centuries. The first document which testifies to the existence of the painting of the Virgin by St. Luke dates from 444. It was at this epoch that it was offered to the Empress Eudoxia, wife of Theodosius II, a very pious emperor who reigned from 408 to 450 over the eastern Roman Empire. Eudoxia entrusted this precious treasure to the emperor's sister, St. Pulcheria. The latter had a church built at Constantinople and deposited in it the precious relic, which was the object of a very great veneration. Every Tuesday, a procession left the sanctuary and the holy image was carried throughout the city. The people multiplied their homage, and Mary, faithful to her promise, multiplied her favors. "My favor will always accompany this image."

Until the reign of Baldwin II, Count of Flanders, Emperor of the East (1240-73), and beyond, the holy image was involved in the most important events in the history of Catholicism in the East. The Virgin had received the Greek name of Hodigitria, which means guide.

Alas! dark days fell upon Constantinople. On May 30, 1453, the Turks seized Constantinople, and Mohammed II destroyed with his own hand the precious image, which perished forever. Fortunately, numerous copies had been made, among which was one by the monk St. Lazarus, who died in 860. This religious, who lived at the time of the Iconoclast emperor Theophilus had his hands burned for having painted this image of the Virgin.⁶

Virgin of the Passion

The work of St. Lazarus differs from the original portrait by the addition of two angels on either side of Mary's face presenting the instruments of the Passion, which won for it the title of "Virgin with Two Archangels" or "Virgin of the Passion," the most widely used name in the Orient, principally in Russia where one of the copies of the Constantinople painting was venerated at Moscow. This imitation, which is the work of the artist Gregory, was the object of miracles. In 1641, by order of Czar Alexis Mikha'ilovitch, it was transported to Moscow, and at the spot where it was received, near the Tver gate, a church was built in its honor, then a monastery. Its name "Virgin of the Passion" came from the placement of two angels, one to the left and one to the right of the Virgin's head, holding the instruments of the Savior's Passion. The common inspiration of the icons of Our Lady of Perpetual Help and the Virgin of the Passion is obvious, as we can see from the illustrations.

But let us leave this imitation from the East to return to that of the monk Lazarus, which can legitimately be considered as the natural inheritor of the Virgin's benediction: the miraculous image of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, the name dictated by the Virgin herself in an apparition of which we shall speak below.

The ancient painting of St. Luke, which was venerated first at Jerusalem and then at Constantinople where it was shamefully destroyed, survived in the famous copy which we all know and which is venerated today at Rome in St. Alphonsus Church, Via Merulana, between St. Mary Major and St. John Lateran, as the Blessed Virgin requested.

FROM CONSTANTINOPLE TO THE ISLE OF CRETE

According to the tradition, Pope Nicholas I having expressed the desire to possess at Rome a copy of the famous image, St. Lazarus left his monastery in order to fulfill the Pope's wish, but he did not complete his voyage. He was constrained, perhaps by storm or sickness, to stop over at the island of Crete, where he died. The Cretans received with great piety the image, which they venerated for six centuries in a church which they erected for this purpose. Pope Nicholas's wish had not been fulfilled in his life time, but Rome was indeed the destination which heaven had fixed for this image, as subsequent events amply prove.

FROM CRETE TO ROME

A manuscript from 1499, discovered in St. Matthew's Church at Rome where the painting was the object of a very popular devotion recounts very precisely the story of its translation from the isle of Crete to Rome. This document disappeared in 1799 together with the church during the invasion of Rome by the French, but three distinct copies survived the disaster; today they all belong to the Vatican Library. It is the principal source of this study.

THE VOYAGE

Towards 1496, a merchant of Crete, pushed by the spirit of lucre, stole the image from the church where it was displayed for veneration, with the intention of selling the painting to a church in Italy. He embarked, but during the voyage, a storm so fierce assailed the ship that the passengers believed that their last hour was at hand. More dead than alive, they recommended themselves to the holy Virgin, without suspecting-the document explicitly mentions this-the presence on board of the stolen miraculous Virgin.

Did the thief, struck with holy fear and repentance, perhaps suggest, without further explanation, that they invoke her whose image he had stolen? Nothing indicates it. Finally, the ship reached an unnamed Italian port safe and sound, thanks to Mary, who was there "clandestinely."

Then, though not all his steps can be retraced, it is known that our man arrived at Rome, still in possession of his treasure which he intended to sell to a church. But sickness overtook him in the city, and he had to take to bed at a friend's house. Contrite, he summoned his faithful friend and begged him to do him one last favor. At his acquiescence, he disclosed his sacrilegious theft and asked him to offer the painting to the church of his choice, the one which would seem to him the most suitable.

The friend agreed, and the Cretan merchant, undoubtedly well disposed by Our Lady of Perpetual Help, rendered his soul to God. The adventure was supposed to stop there, but that was not to be.

KEPT IN SECRET

Unpacking the effects of the deceased, our Roman friend easily found the magnificent painting and planned to execute his promise without delay. Unfortunately, it happened that his wife, captivated by the beauty and the value of the image, opposed her husband's will. "A miraculous painting in our hands?" she told him, "Why, it is a gift from heaven! I will never consent to part with it."

"This painting does not belong to us," her husband replied, "we must allow other Christians to venerate it." But his wife was not short of reasons: "If we offer it to a Roman parish, the others will be jealous! Let's keep it here and we shall pray every day to the Virgin for all Romans..."

Finally, instead of taking it to a church, the treasure was hung in the bedroom where, for nine months, it was kept secret without incident. But, one day, the Blessed Virgin appeared to the Roman and enjoined him to execute the last will of his deceased friend and the sacred promise he himself had made at the bedside of the dying man. This injunction did not succeed in convincing the man. A second warning remained equally ineffective. Mary intervened yet a third time with the rebel, this time concluding her visit with a threat: "If you do not obey my instructions, you will shortly die." He was finally going to obey, but, once more, he felt powerless before his wife's urging.

That was the final straw! One last time, the Virgin appeared to the Roman, not to threaten him again, but to announce the impending chastisement: "I warned you," she said severely to the weak-willed spouse. "You would not obey willingly, so you will leave here first... Then it will be my turn to leave this house, and I shall choose for myself a worthier dwelling!" Indeed, not long after, our man left the house...in a coffin.

The Blessed Virgin, who could not entrust herself to the guilty wife, first appeared to the six-year-old daughter, and gave her an important message-the most important, because it revealed to us the Madonna's name: "Tell your mother and grandfather," she said, "that Holy Mary of Perpetual Help wants to be exposed to the veneration of the faithful in a Roman church."

DELIVERANCE

In the last warning of the Blessed Virgin, the grandfather was named, probably because he had seconded the opposition of the wife, his daughter. Be that as it may, by experience, the widow had learned that the Madonna did not make empty threats. Besides this mysterious message which, coupled with a vision that she had seen personally, and frightened by the perspective of a like punishment, she prepared to part with the precious painting and offer it to a church according to the will of her whom it portrayed.

Unable to carry out her plan in silence, she spoke to a neighbor. Weeping, she revealed her husband's resistance, and accused herself bitterly of having been the cause of her husband's death because of her own insubordination, and confided in her neighbor her resolve to place the precious image in a church as soon as possible.

The neighbor could not believe this providential intervention, and reassured the poor woman. "You are letting yourself be deceived; the Virgin Mary is in heaven, she is not interested at all in our painted images. If you were to cast her portrait in the fire, it would burn like any other, believe me. And if you are too afraid, give it to me: I'll take care of it." But a sudden illness overcame her! By day's end the neighbor was seriously ill. But this blow from heaven revived her faith, she understood her fault, asked forgiveness, and even made a vow to the holy image which delivered her instantaneously from her sickness.

At last, the painting was going to be restored to public veneration. But in which church should it be deposited? The Virgin herself returned to manifest her intention, and revealed it to the daughter in a new apparition, the seventh and last of this tale: "Tell your mother that she must deposit the image between St. Mary Major and St. John Lateran, in a church dedicated to St. Matthew." The designated church belonged to the Augustinian Fathers.

In the first century of the Church, on the Esquiline Hill, in the present enclosure of the Redemptorists' property, there stood the paternal house of St. Cletus, third Roman Pontiff, who received the gospel truths from the mouth of the Prince of the Apostles. Having become Pope, he consecrated his dwelling to public worship and made it into a church, which became one of the first sanctuaries of Christendom. It was given the title of St. Matthew. It was restored in the 12th century and was consecrated at that time by Paschal II.

PUBLIC CULTUS

Informed of events so favorable to them, one can surmise the promptness with which the Augustinians presented themselves as the new custodians of the heavenly treasure. They organized a solemn procession; and on March 27, 1499, during the pontificate of Alexander VI, the Wednesday of Holy Week, they carried the miraculous painting to their church.

The Blessed Virgin did not intend to ascend her throne without placing her signature to the contract signed with her children. Scarcely had the painting crossed the threshold of the new sanctuary, when a cripple, whose arm and right side were paralyzed, dragged himself to the altar to implore his cure, begging God and the Virgin to restore his limbs. Suddenly, his blood began to circulate, and the paralytic was healed.

This miracle, the first of a multitude, marked the inauguration of a glorious cultus in favor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. For three centuries, in the Church of St. Matthew, crowds of the faithful and numerous noteworthy visitors, like St. Alphonsus Liguori, came to pay homage to the holy image dominating the main altar under the marble baldachin.

A century later and constantly thereafter, the chroniclers who wrote about the city of Rome could not silence the glory of the Madonna. Panciroli, in 1600, and Herrera, in 1644, mention the painting, calling it "miraculous"; Totti, in 1638, qualified it as "absolutely (valdej miraculous"; Lupardus, in 1618, and Martineli, in 1653, declare it "illustrious by its miracles"; Cancelotti, in 1661: "famous for its prodigies"; Brutius, circa 1670: "very miraculous"; and Cardinal Nerli, in 1687: "resplendent far and wide by the glory of its miracles." These testimonies, among others, are culled from the remarkable work of Fr. Henze.

FROM ST. MATTHEW'S TO ST. EUSEBIUS'

In February 1798, French troops under the command of Berthier invaded Rome. Massena, succeeding Berthier, destroyed some thirty churches, among which was St. Matthew's, which was razed on June 3, as we learn from a bull of Pius VII dated December 23, 1801.

The Augustinians of the monastery, Irish for the most part, almost all returned to their land of origin. A few of them sought refuge in the neighboring church dedicated to St. Eusebius and at the time completely abandoned because of the extinction of its former occupants, the Celestine Fathers.

In their flight, one can well imagine, the Augustinians carefully transported from St. Matthew's to St. Eusebius' the much venerated painting of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Where did they depose it: in the church itself or in the monastery? That is unknown. All that can be affirmed is that it was kept there until 1819, about 21 years. At that date, the Jesuits, re-established by Pius VII, received the Church of St. Eusebius as their own, and the Augustinians were once against transferred, this time to the little church of St. Mary's in Posterulana. Obviously, the painting of Our Lady of Perpetual Help accompanied them in this new migration.

Nevertheless, it was not placed in the church, already dedicated to the Virgin under another title, Our Lady of Grace, but placed in a secret little oratory within the cloister. And there, little by little, it fell into complete oblivion, or almost, for the people no longer had access to it, and on the other hand, few of the monks could remember the solemnities of St. Matthew's.

One very old Italian Brother coadjutor, Augustine Orsetti, remained deeply attached to this Madonna, for alone he enjoyed first-hand information about the cultus formerly offered to Our Lady of Perpetual Help in the Church of St. Matthew. It was there, it turns out, that while still an adolescent, he had donned the holy religious habit and had spent more than ten years of his religious life. Having become an old man, he frequently repeated, quite emphatically, to a young man in his service for more than twelve years, one Michael Marchi: "My dear Michael, this painting is that of St. Mary of Perpetual Help, venerated for a long time at St. Matthew's. It is a miraculous painting, don't forget; the fact is absolutely certain." Moreover, the young man had already heard certain relations of miraculous events attributed to the Madonna of Perpetual Help.

The old Brother passed away at the advanced age of 86 and the young man left the monastery where he had served. Without quite forgetting the old Brother's statements about the miraculous portrait, he no longer had the opportunity to revive his remembrance, nor to speak frequently about the subject. The poor painting was buried in forgetfulness and dust for almost 70 years (1798-1866). Later, Michael Marchi would relate that, in his childhood, he had often contemplated the painting in the little oratory of the convent at St. Mary's in Posterulana. While serving Mass, he observed that the picture received no special marks of veneration: not a single candle was lit, not the least bit of ornamentation adorned its place; it was covered with dust. Though quite young, his admiration for the painting never waned. His mission was not over yet!

Once again, Our Lady was enveloped in mystery and silence: three quarters of a century passed. Undoubtedly, individuals must have possessed little images of the Virgin and had recourse privately to Mary's perpetual help, but the processions and grandiose ceremonies were over, or so it seemed...

IN REDEMPTORIST HANDS

In 1855, in order to obey the insistent invitations of the Sovereign Pontiff, the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer founded by St. Alphonsus de Liguori moved to Rome. The purchase of a property and monastery was not without complications: so many negotiations came to naught. Finally, though not without new difficulties, they settled on the Esquiline Hill, and, note well, on the very site of the former St. Matthew's. But by this date, no one suspected anything. Moreover, by an odd coincidence, this very year, Michael Marchi, former servant and young confidant of the old Brother Augustine Orsetti, entered in religion...with the Redemptorists!

That is not all. A little later, the monastery archivist informed the community of a most interesting find: In an old book, he had discovered a revealing document: a church dedicated to St. Matthew had once stood on the community's property, in the present-day garden, and there they venerated a miraculous painting of the Virgin.

Fr. Marchi, on this occasion, reminisced about St. Mary of Perpetual Help, of which, at one time or other, he had already spoken to his confreres. All, you can imagine, were keenly interested in the affair.

But one day, they received one more piece of information. It was in 1863. A Jesuit, Fr. Francis Blosi, was preaching at the Gesu at Rome on the different Madonnas venerated in the Eternal City. One evening, he prefaced his sermon with this remark: "I would like to speak to you today about an image once very famous because of the prodigies that it worked. For 70 years, it has not be spoken of, no doubt because it is hidden in some private house." Then the preacher, taking his inspiration from a sermon that had been preached in the same church in 1715 and printed as a leaflet in 1729, described the features of our glorious painting. He concluded his allocution with this ardent appeal: "If, in this vast audience, someone knows the whereabouts of this famous image, I adjure him to reveal it and to restore it to public veneration in the very place chosen by the Blessed Virgin: between St. Mary Major and St. John Lateran."

The echo of this historic discourse, this providential speech, came to the Redemptorists' ears. They learned from it a supremely important detail of which they had not the slightest inkling: The Virgin of Crete herself had chosen the spot where she wants to receive our homage, in the church situated between St. Mary Major and St. John Lateran. Now, the church which actually fit the description was the Redemptorists' church dedicated to the Holy Redeemer and to St. Alphonsus.

One can easily guess what desire and what hope of possessing this painting were kindled in the hearts of the sons of St. Alphonsus. Did they not possess, moreover, in their own ranks a witness of the highest worth?

Fr. Mauron, Superior General, asked Fr. Marchi to draft in good and due form a document on the hidden painting, about which his heart had faithfully kept the secret. Armed with this writing, signed on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, the superior general of the Redemptorists obtained an audience with Pius IX on December 11, 1865. He recounted to him the facts, clarified the desired information, furnished the required documents, and, then and there, the Sovereign Pontiff affixed his signature to an official act by which he enjoined "the microscopic institute of the Augustinians of St. Mary in Posterulana" to cede the miraculous image to the Redemptorists, in order to assure to the Madonna a solemn public cultus.

The following January 19th, the image was handed over to the Redemptorists. They immediately undertook the restoration of the somewhat deteriorated painting, then reinaugurated the devotion by a procession through the streets of Rome on the Thursday evening of April 26, 1866, Feast of Our Lady of Good Counsel. It was also the feast of St. Cletus!

"The sons of St. Alphonsus de Liguori (1696-1787)," the Benedictines of Paris observed, "had  formed from the outset a congregation specially devoted to the Blessed Virgin. It had adopted as emblem of this devotion the image of Our Lady of Good Counsel. But she was also in a place of special honor among the hermits of St. Augustine. In 1866, the Virgin confided to the Redemptorists the treasure of one of her miraculous images: Our Lady of Perpetual Help."

The Augustinians, constrained to cede the miraculous image of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, recovered in some way the undivided proprietorship of Our Lady of Good Counsel: is not this what was signified by the providential inauguration of Our Lady of Perpetual Help on the feast day of Our Lady of Good Counsel?

Miracles took place just as they had during the previous enthronement four centuries before in the Church of St. Matthew. Let us note one or two of our Lady's extraordinary interventions.

A child of four, burning with fever and tortured by unbearable headaches which threw it into convulsions typical of meningitis, seemed to be on the brink of death. As the miraculous picture of Our Lady of Perpetual Help was passing by, the mother grabbed the child, opened the window and presented it to the Virgin with this confident prayer: "O good Mother, heal my boy, or take him with you to Paradise!" The mother's confidence was not in vain. The child immediately enjoyed a humanly inexplicable improvement, and a few days later was found to be in perfect health.

A few houses down, another mother held in her arms her little eight-year-old girl who had lost the use of her legs a few years before. The heart of Mary heard her pleas as well, but the child, though she lost the stiffness, still could not remain standing. A few days later, the mother, encouraged by the unexpected amelioration of her daughter's condition, took her to the Church of St. Alphonsus and set her down in front of the painting, saying, "O Mary, finish what you have begun!" At that instant, the girl arose and began to walk.

Ever since that day, the miraculous image has been exposed to the veneration of the faithful at St. Alphonsus Church, Via Merulana, between St. Mary Major and St. John Lateran, where she does not cease to lavish her favors on the crowds she draws: "My favor will always accompany this image."

Pope Pius IX was not long in coming in person. On May 5, 1866, he prostrated himself before the miraculous image: "I have learned that this Virgin grants marvelous graces. She should use her power in favor of the poor pope," he said, and he commanded the Redemptorists to "make her known to the whole world."

As St. Alphonsus, their founder, wrote, "Mary will never fail to help us, if we do not fail to invoke her help."