Our Lady of Perpetual Help

The popularity of the icon among the Roman Catholics has risen as a result of appointment of their priest for post of missionaries; it has also been copied and reproduced for display in several places such as homes, public transportations and business establishments. The redemptory priests have been entitled the right to propagate and protect the Marian religious acts.

Requesting petitions for the following:

• For the protection of children.
• Feast: 7-Mar
• Day: Sunday
• Candle: White or Blue
• Matters concerning; Protection of Children

This icon was given the title by Pope Pius IX; alternatively it can be called Our Lady of Perpetual Succour. It is closely linked with an earlier on Byzantine icon that started in the 15th century. It has been existent in Rome since 1499, right now, it is being held in a church known  as Sant'Alfonso di Liguori all'Esquilino. The icon is also celebrated in the other churches such as the Eastern Orthodox where it is referred to as Virgin of the Passion.

Two popes have endorsed the icon, the first one being Pope Pius IX who gave it the redemption powers in 1865 and Pope John Paul II when he offered it to a Muslim cleric in n2001.

How the icon was transferred

In 1978, the Roman Empire was conquered by the French and the Pope taken captive, the French destroyed churches that include San Matteo which was holding the icon at that time. The icon was then rescued by Augustinian friars and taken to a the St. Eusebius church which was nearby only to set it up in an altar in Santa Maria Church that was in Poterule.

The redemption priests then bought a villa in Rome in 1855 which was allocated the headquarters. Ironically, the land they had bought was a church that belonged to St. Mathew in which the Virgin Mary wanted the icon to be in.

Several years to come, Pope Pius IX gave an invitation to Redemptory’s Fathers to build the veneration house in Rome, they agreed and build a church at the location that the Pope offered, this means that they settled on via Merulana, with little idea that it was a former site for the icon.

How the icon was stored

To prevent further destruction of the icon by fungi, he redemptory fathers signed contract for the restoration of the icon with the Vatican Museum in 1990 and according to the contract, the icon was to get restored for prevention of fungal damage. In this process, the icon was to be photographed, x-rayed, infra-red scanned, technically analyzed among other operations. To get the correct age of the icon, a carbon test was carried out and placed the age at 1380-1480, it was also found that then structure of face was tampered with by over painting.

Present caretaker

The top ranking redemptory’s then presented their whores to the Pope, Pius IX and he decided that the icon gets public exposure and that it be allowed a Marian title. The Pope selected Saint Alphonse as new store for the icon, the Pope then wrote to the Augustinian friars asking them to give the icon to the redemptory’s as long they were to offer them another image of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, they could alternatively offer them the icon’s copy to show goodwill.