Our Mother of Perpetual Help

                                

• Just a few blocks west of St. Mary Major Basilica stands the lofty Victorian-gothic church of San Alfonso.   The sacred picture of “Our Mother of Perpetual Help” is fittingly venerated in this church named after the Marian Doctor of the church St. Alphonsus Liguori.  It was he who wrote that great spiritual classic, The Glories of Mary.  It is his sons, the Redemptorists, who are the custodians of the shrine and picture.  They are forever associated with this miraculous image through their apostolic zeal in fostering reverence and devotion to our Lady of Perpetual Help throughout the world.
• The story of this Icon is one of the most unusual and involved stories of the many Marian shrines and miraculous images throughout the world.  The painting originally came from the island of Crete where it had been venerated for a number of years.  The earliest written account is from an old document-plaque written in Latin and Italian which was placed before the Icon in the church of St. Matthew where it was first venerated in Rome in March of 1499.
•  Miracles: On January 19, 1866, Fathers Marchi and Bresciani brought the miraculous picture to St. Alphonsus’ church.  Preparations were now made to inaugurate the new public reign of Our Lady of Perpetual Help.  On April 26^th, a great procession was staged in which the picture was carried throughout the Esquiline region of Rome.  Upon returning to the church, the picture was enthroned over the high altar, in a resplendent shrine-niche especially constructed for it.All along the route of the procession the people of Rome decorated their houses with bunting and flowers.  Clergy and religious were proud to march in the procession.  Our Lady, as is to be expected, showed her pleasure at this outpouring of her children’s love in several authenticated miracles.  The procession passed a house where a little boy of four lay dying.  He had been given up as a hopeless case by the doctors.  Hearing the singing, the child’s grieving mother snatched him in her arms and hastened to the open window.  Looking out at Our Lady’s picture passing by she called out: “Dear blessed Mother, either cure my boy or take him to paradise!”Our Lady chose the first, and the boy was cured at once.  The next day he toddled along with his mother to St. Alphonsus’ church and stood before the picture.  He waved his little hands to the Madonna and cried “Grazie, grazie” and threw her some kisses in the loving Italian style.  As the procession was passing another house, another mother called upon Our Lady of Perpetual Help to aid her eight-year-old daughter who was completely paralyzed.  At once the girl regained partial use of her limbs and was able to move about a bit.  The next day the mother brought the child to St. Alphonsus’ church to thank Our Lady and ask if she would not complete the cure.  At once the child was restored to full health and vigor.
• As to be expected, the report of those marvelous healings spread rapidly throughout the city and people came by the hundreds to visit the shrine.  Soon the whole area around the altar was filled with abandoned crutches and canes and several whole glass-covered cabinets were filled with gold and silver thanksgiving offerings in the shapes of miniature hearts, arms, legs and other votive offerings.  
• Scarcely two weeks after the solemn exposition of the picture, Pope Pius IX himself came to visit the shrine.  He stood quietly before it for a long time and then exclaimed: “How beautiful she is!”  He was given and had enshrined a copy of the original in his own private chapel and was often seen kneeling before it in fervent prayer.  Later on, when the Archconfraternity of Our Lady of Perpetual Help was formed, he blessed the project and insisted that his name head the list of the worldwide membership.
• Pope Leo XIII, the next pontiff, had a copy of the picture on his desk so that he might see it constantly during his working day.  St. Pius X sent a copy of the icon to the Empress of Ethiopia and granted an indulgence of 100 days to anyone who repeated the phrase: “Mother of Perpetual Help, pray for us.”  Pope Benedict XV had the picture of Our Lady of Perpetual Help placed immediately over his chair of state in the throne room.  Here it could be seen by all just over his head, as if to say: “Here is your true Queen!”  Many famous cardinals (Like Mercier of Belgium) and bishops (like von Keppler of Germany) declared the Mother of Perpetual Help their own special patroness.  Rapidly the Madonna became known outside of Rome.  
• Pope Pius IX told the Redemptorists, in speaking to them of the treasure he had committed to their care: “Make her known!”  It seems as though they hardly needed the exhortation.  In the United States, they built the first Our Lady of Perpetual Help church in the Roxbury section of Boston, and it was eventually raised to the honor of a “Papal Basilica” by Pope Pius XII.

Excerpted from:

http://www.marys-touch.com/history/olhelp.htm

The icon damaged by incense smoke and timely discoloration, prior to its restoration.

Pope Pius IX finally gave his Apostolic Blessing and titled the icon Mater de Perpetuo Succursu (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.^[14]
On April 21, 1866, the Redemptorist Superior General gave one of the first copies of the icon to Pope Pius XI. 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 1990.^[13]
In 1990, the icon was taken down from its altar for new photography and image restoration commissioned by the General Government of Redemptorists. The Redemptorist Order entered into contract with the Technical Department at the Vatican Museum to restore the icon and prevent further fungal damage into the icon. The restoration process involved X-ray, infra-red scanning, technical analysis of the paint and ultra-violettesting along with a Carbon-14-test which placed the icon between the year 1325-1480. Artistic analysis of the icon revealed that the facial structure of the icon was altered due previous overpainting, resulting in a combination of "oriental and occidental" features of the image.^{[15]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_Perpetual_Help}

Detail of the hands of the virgin.