Tomorrow, May 24, is the feast of Our Lady Help of Christians. Pope Benedict XVI declared this day to be a special day of prayer for the entire Catholic Church for the suffering Church in China. Here is the relevant section from the pope’s Letter to the Church in China, which he issued on the 27th of May 2007:
A day of prayer for the Church in China
Dear Pastors and all the faithful, the date 24 May could in the future become an occasion for the Catholics of the whole world to be united in prayer with the Church which is in China. This day is dedicated to the liturgical memorial of Our Lady, Help of Christians, who is venerated with great devotion at the Marian Shrine of Sheshan in Shanghai.
I would like that date to be kept by you as a day of prayer for the Church in China. I encourage you to celebrate it by renewing your communion of faith in Jesus our Lord and of faithfulness to the Pope, and by praying that the unity among you may become ever deeper and more visible. I remind you, moreover, of the commandment that Jesus gave us, to love our enemies and to pray for those who persecute us, as well as the invitation of the Apostle Saint Paul: “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all men, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, godly and respectful in every way. This is good, and it is acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:1-4).
On that same day, the Catholics of the whole world – in particular those who are of Chinese origin – will demonstrate their fraternal solidarity and solicitude for you, asking the Lord of history for the gift of perseverance in witness, in the certainty that your sufferings past and present for the Holy Name of Jesus and your intrepid loyalty to his Vicar on earth will be rewarded, even if at times everything can seem a failure.
Farewell
At the conclusion of this Letter I pray that you, dear Pastors of the Catholic Church which is in China, priests, consecrated persons and lay faithful, may “rejoice, though now for a little while you may have to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold which though perishable is tested by fire, may redound to praise and glory and honour at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Pet 1:6-7).
May Mary Most Holy, Mother of the Church and Queen of China, who at the hour of the Cross patiently awaited the morning of the Resurrection in the silence of hope, accompany you with maternal solicitude and intercede for all of you, together with Saint Joseph and the countless Holy Martyrs of China.
I assure you of my constant prayers and, with affectionate remembrance of the elderly, the sick, the children and young people of your noble Nation, I bless you from my heart.
Given at Rome, May 27, year 2007, the third of my Pontificate.
BENEDICTUS PP. XVI
Summarizing the feast day of Our Lady Help of Christians from the Catholic Encyclopedia:
The soldiers, after their naval victory at Lepanto over the invading Moslems on 7 Oct., 1571, visited the sanctuary of Loreto, saluted the Holy Virgin there for the first time with this new title, Our Lady Help of Christians. It was a variation of the older invocation Advocata Christianorum, found in a litany of 1524. The Roman Breviary (24 May, Appendix) says that Saint Pius V inserted the invocation in the litany of Loreto after the battle of Lepanto.
The feast of Our Lady, Help of Christians, was instituted by Pius VII. By order of Napoleon, Pius VII was arrested, 5 July, 1808, and detained a prisoner for three years at Savona, and then at Fontainebleau. In January, 1814, after the battle of Leipzig, he was brought back to Savona and set free, 17 March, on the eve of the feast of Our Lady of Mercy, the Patroness of Savona. When he entered Rome, 24 May, 1814, he was enthusiastically welcomed. To commemorate his own sufferings and those of the Church during his exile he extended the feast of the Seven Dolours of Mary (third Sunday in September) to the universal Church, 18 Sept., 1814. When Napoleon left Elba and returned to Paris, his brother-in-law, King of Naples, Joachim Murat, was about to march his revolutionary forces through the Papal States; Pius VII fled to Savona (22 March, 1815), where he crowned the image of Our Lady of Mercy, 10 May, 1815.
After the Congress of Vienna and the battle of Waterloo he returned to Rome, 7 July, 1815. To give thanks to God and Our Lady he (15 Sept., 1815) instituted for the Papal States the feast of Our Lady, Help of Christians, to be celebrated, 24 May, the anniversary of his first return. The feast has attained special celebrity since St. Don Bosco, founder of the Salesian Congregation, 9 June, 1868,dedicated to Our Lady, Help of Christians, the mother church of his congregation at Turin. The Salesian Fathers have carried the devotion to their numerous establishments.
From Our Website Lepanto and the great feast day
Gary Potter has written for our website an excellent history of western Christendom’s battles against the Moslem jihadists over the centuries from the seventh century on. He gave special emphasis to the victory at Lepanto in 1571. You can read the full article here on our website. A short summation by Eleonore Villarrubia and Sister Mary Peter is also available here.
