Origin of the Weekly Devotion to Our Mother of Perpetual Help

In 1867 Pope Pius IX asked the Redemptorists to make the Icon of Our Mother of Perpetual Help known throughout the world. We have done a remarkable job of this for in just about every church in America, this Icon hangs on a wall where it has been honored by millions of faithful. 

 

The church of St Alphonsus 'Rock' was completed in 1873 and one of the very prominent features of the church is the National Shrine dedicated to Mary as Our Mother of Perpetual Help. The Shrine was remodeled and dedicated in 1922. It was then that thousands of people from around the area came to honor Mary. In 1922 alone, at the nine-day novena, an estimated 40,000 people came. The church, the sacristy and the school auditorium were all filled to capacity. It was then decided for the first time, that a weekly devotion to Mary would begin. Over the next decade the weekly attendance hit 18,000. What we are celebrating here in 2022 is the 100-year anniversary of the weekly devotion to Mary.

 

St Alphonsus Liguori 'Rock' Catholic Church was the first church in the whole country to have the weekly devotions. If you have the weekly devotion to Mary as Our Mother of Perpetual Help in your church, know that it started here at the 'Rock' on the corner of Cook and Grand in 1922.

 

May God, through Mary our Mother, continue to bless us.

Our Mother of Perpetual Help, Pray for Us.