Our Lady of Perpetual Help
Our Mother of Perpetual Succour (Latin: Nostra Mater de Perpetuo Succursu) (colloquially known as Our Lady of Perpetual Help) is a title of the Mary, mother of Jesus in Catholicism associated with a 15th-century Byzantine icon and a reputed Marian apparition. The image has been enshrined in the Church of San Matteo in Via Merulana since 27 March 1499, and is today permanently enshrined in the Church of Saint Alphonsus of Liguori in Rome, where the novena to Our Mother of Perpetual Help is prayed weekly.
| Our Mother of Perpetual Succour Sancta Mater de Perpetuo Succursu | |
|---|---|
| Location | Esquiline Hill, Rome, Italy |
| Date | Between 1325—1480 |
| Type | Icon of the Cretan School, Amolyntos (Passion) |
| Approval | Pope Pius IX |
| Venerated in | Catholic Church |
| Shrine | The Church of Saint Alphonsus of Liguori |
| Patronage | • Redemptorist Order • Haiti • Almoradi , Spain ; • Roman Catholic Diocese of Cabanatuan, Baclaran, Philippines; Roman Catholic Diocese of Leeds |
| Feast day | 27 June |
Pope Pius IX granted a pontifical decree of canonical coronation along with its official formalized title Nostra Mater de Perpetuo Succursu on 5 May 1866. The Latin Patriarch of Constantinople, Cardinal Ruggero Luigi Emidio Antici Mattei, executed the rite of coronation on 23 June 1867.
The Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer serve as custodians of the icon. The image is alternatively named as "The Virgin of the Passion" in Eastern Orthodoxy. Novena prayers are held before its feast day on 27 June every year. Due to promotion by the Redemptorist priests, the image has gained popularity among Roman and Eastern Catholics. Modern reproductions are often displayed in residential homes, commercial establishments, and public transportation.