History of the Picture of
Our Mother of Perpetual Help

For many centuries throughout the world, this picture has been revered as an icon of hope and inspiration.
  • The original picture of Our Mother of Perpetual Help is a product of Byzantine art. It is known to be at least five hundred years old in its present form. Painted in tempera on hard wood and only 17 by 21 inches, the picture may date back another 1,000 years to the ancient Madonnas of Constantinople. Some church legends even date the picture to the first century and the hand and brush of St. Luke the Evangelist.
  • It is only in the past 125 years that devotion to Our Mother of Perpetual Help has increased dramatically. In 1866, Pope Pius IX entrusted the miraculous icon to the Redemptorists and told them to "Make Her Known Throughout the World".
  • As it has criss.crossed the globe bringing the Good News of Salvation, Redemptorists priests and brothers have also erected churches and shrines to Our Mother of Perpetual Help. They have encouraged people to gather each week to pray the novena prayers and then to pray daily in their homes to Mary, Our Mother of Perpetual Help.
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