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 COMPILED FROM APPROVED SOURCES BY 
 
 REV. JOS A. CHAPOTON, C.SS.R. 
 
 PERMISSU SUPERIORUM 
 
 841 6 FOOTHILL BOULEVARD 
 OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA 
 
 COLONIAL PRESS, GATEWAY BLDG., OMAHA, NEBR. 
 
 

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Approbation of tbe (^rbtnarp 
 
 IMPRIMATUR 
 
 ^EDWARD D. HOWARD 
 Archbishop of Oregon City 
 
 PORTLAND, ORE., January 4, 1927 
 
®able of Contents! 
 
 Page 
 
 Sketch of Miraculous Picture. 6 
 
 Confraternity of O. L. P. H.2 8 
 
 Aim of Confraternity. 30 
 
 Membership. 30 
 
 Advantages . 31 
 
 Indulgences .3 2—3 3 
 
 A Method of Making a Novena. 35 
 
 Prayer in Spiritual Wants. 3 8 
 
 Prayer in Temporal Wants. 38 
 
 Prayer in Sickness. 39 
 
 Prayer for the Church. 40 
 
 Prayer for the Conversion of a Sinner. . 42 
 
 Prayer for Financial Aid. 43 
 
 Prayer for a Vocation.44—45 
 
 Prayer for Conversion of Non-Catholics 4 6 
 Prayer for Perseverance. 47 
 
 Prayer of St. Alphonsus to be recited 
 during the Novena. 47 
 
 Twelve Invocations to O. L. P. H. 48 
 
 Monthly Act of Consecration. 50 
 
 Act of Consecration to St. Alphonsus. . 51 
 Litany of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. . 53 
 
 Meditation . 57 
 
 Centres of the Archconfraternity. 60 
 
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 JWtractilous; picture of 
 (0urHabj> 
 of perpetual Help 
 
 *8 
 
 How the Painting Was Brought to Rome, 
 and to the Church of St. Matthew. 
 
 U P TO the close of the fifteenth century 
 this painting was in the island of 
 Crete, now called Candia, and was there 
 venerated as miraculous. At that period 
 a pious and wealthy merchant who had 
 great devotion to our Blessed Lady, and 
 was particularly attached to this picture, 
 found himself obliged to quit the island. 
 Fearing, on account of the proximity of 
 the Turks, that the picture would be left 
 to neglect and oblivion, or perhaps be dis¬ 
 honored by the enemies of Christianity, he 
 resolved to obtain possession of it, and 
 bring it with him to Italy, whither he was 
 about to depart. 
 
Merchant Diet. 
 
 TT WAS not the merchant’s intention to 
 settle down in Rome. He had already 
 selected another city for his future domi¬ 
 cile, and thither he was to bring his treas¬ 
 ured painting. As, however, this was not 
 according to God’s design, nor the Virgin’s 
 will, he was never able to put his purpose 
 into execution. He fell sick, and died in 
 the friend’s house with whom he stopped 
 in Rome; and thus the picture remained 
 in the Eternal City, to be for that city; 
 by divine dispensation, a never failing 
 source of miracles and grace. 
 
 When the merchant perceived that all 
 efforts to save his life were unavailing, 
 and confident that the Holy Virgin had 
 prepared for him a better place in heaven, 
 he bequeathed his precious picture to his 
 host, with the strictest injunction to pre¬ 
 serve it with the greatest care, and see 
 that it be placed in some church and ex¬ 
 posed to the veneration of the faithful. 
 The host promised to comply with his 
 wishes; but he did not keep his word. The 
 painting remained a long time in his 
 house. Although he himself was willing to 
 carry out his promise, his wife, who ha'd 
 taken a great liking to the beautiful pic¬ 
 ture, would not consent to give it up. For 
 peace’s sake the husband assented; but the 
 Blessed Virgin did not assent. She had 
 not sent that picture to Rome for the good 
 
 —7— 
 
of a single family, but for that of the 
 whole people. She appeared three differ¬ 
 ent times to the husband, and gave him to 
 understand that, if he did not fulfill his 
 plighted word, he must expect severe chas¬ 
 tisement. He related these visitations to 
 his wife, seeking to obtain her consent to 
 let the picture go. But he prevailed not, 
 nor had he the courage to insist and send 
 the picture away, although he feared the 
 threatened chastisement. At length the 
 divine patience was exhausted. For a last 
 time the Virgin appeared to him, and to 
 his horror said: “Thou canst not com¬ 
 plain to me; three times I admonished 
 thee. That I may get out of this house 
 thou shalt go out first.” And so it hap¬ 
 pened. He took sick and died in a few 
 days. This was a terrible, but a just judg¬ 
 ment on the man who, rather than dis¬ 
 please his wife, preferred to displease and 
 disobey the Mother of God, the Queen of 
 Heaven. 
 
 One would imagine that the widow 
 would now hasten to do that for the omis¬ 
 sion of which her husband had been 
 stricken to death. But yet she could not 
 bring herself to give up the picture. By a 
 strange delusion she persuaded herself 
 that the picture could be nowhere so safe 
 as under her own roof. And thus she hesi¬ 
 tated and waited from day to day, till at 
 length a young and sinless daughter of 
 hers rushed to her saying; “O mother! 
 
 —8— 
 
I have seen her in the house a wonderful 
 woman. O how beautiful she was! and 
 her countenance shone so! And this 
 woman said to me: ‘Go at once to your 
 mother and to your grandfather and say 
 to them, Our Lady of Perpetual Help 
 wishes to be placed in a church.’ ” 
 
 Brought to her senses by this appeal of 
 her guileless child, the widow at once 
 made up her mind to carry out the will of 
 the Blessed Virgin. But before she put 
 her resolution into effect, one of her ac¬ 
 quaintances, a wicked woman, who had 
 heard of the affair, called in, and strove, 
 by blasphemous reasoning to persuade her 
 to retain the picture and not to mind what 
 she termed foolish dreams and imaginings. 
 The wicked woman had hardly ceased 
 speaking when she was taken with violent 
 pains, so that it was thought she was on 
 the point of death. This sudden visitation 
 was a punishment of her blasphemy, and 
 she penitently besought forgiveness and 
 relief from the Blessed Virgin. The ever 
 sweet, good and compassionate Virgin 
 heard her prayer. Full of faith and sor¬ 
 row for her sins, the woman touched the 
 picture and was miraculously cured on the 
 instant. 
 
 •—I— 
 
Picture Is Given to The Augustinians 
 
 T HIS miracle determined the widow all 
 the more to hasten to comply with the 
 divine will. It only remained to decide in 
 which church the painting should be plac¬ 
 ed. Our Lady condescended to make her 
 will known, on this occasion also, through 
 the mouth of the guileless child. She 
 appeared once more to the little girl, and 
 said: “Between my beloved church of 
 St. Mary Major and the church of my be¬ 
 loved adopted son, St. John of Lateran, do 
 I wish to be.” Between these two basilicas 
 stands the church of St. Matthew, and in 
 this church it was obviously the will of 
 the Virgin that the picture should be 
 placed. The widow accordingly hastened 
 to the superior of the Augustinians, in 
 whose charge St. Matthew’s church then 
 was, informing him of all the circumstan¬ 
 ces connected with the picture, and of her 
 resolution to deposit it in the church. This 
 solemn ceremony took place on the 27th of 
 March, 1499, in the presence of a great 
 concourse of people. On that day began 
 that series of innumerable miracles and 
 graces which for three centuries our Lady 
 of Perpetual Help never ceased to dispense 
 to her votaries through the medium of this 
 picture. On the way from the widow’s 
 house to the church, a man whose arm had 
 been paralyzed regained its perfect use 
 upon touching the picture. 
 
 —10' 
 
The Church of St. Matthew, as before 
 stated, stood between St. Mary Major and 
 that of St. John of Lateran, on the eastern 
 slope of the Esquiline Hill. The ground 
 on which it was built belongs now to the 
 Redemptorist Fathers and is a part of the 
 enclosed garden attached to their college 
 of St. Alphonsus. Some of the ruins are 
 still visible. 
 
 In the year 1477 Sixtus IV. made over 
 to the Augustinians the house and church 
 of St. Matthew. Saving an interruption of 
 a few years, from 1652 to 1658, these fa¬ 
 thers remained in possession of the same 
 down to the year 1810. When the French 
 took possession of Rome and the States of 
 the church, the old and venerable church 
 of St. Matthew was, by order, razed to the 
 ground, to the great grief and scandal of 
 the faithful, as well as to the detriment of 
 Christian art, and the loss of many vener¬ 
 able relics of antiquity. The demolition 
 was affected in the year 179 8. 
 
 For the space of three centuries the 
 picture of our Lady of Perpetual Help 
 hung over the high altar in the church of 
 St. Matthew, and not only in the begin¬ 
 ning but all along down these three hun¬ 
 dred years, continued to be the medium of 
 wonderful graces and miracles. The older 
 writers who treat of Rome’s churches, 
 shrines and holy things, invariably men¬ 
 tion the picture in St. Matthew’s and with 
 one accord pronounce it not only miracn- 
 
 —11— 
 
lous, but at all times and continuously so, 
 and known as such all over the city. 
 
 It will suffice to cite as witness Cardinal 
 Nerli, whose titular church was that of 
 St. Matthew, and who lived in the adjoin¬ 
 ing villa, now the Redemptorist college of 
 St. Alphonsus. The cardinal died in the 
 year 1708, and says in his epitaph, com¬ 
 posed by himself, that he had selected as 
 his last resting place his own titular 
 church, so renowned for the glory of the 
 miracles wrought therein: “Tituli miracu- 
 lorum gloria late fulgentis.” 
 
 After his return to Rome Pius VII. gave 
 the Augustinians in lieu of their convent 
 of St. Matthew, that of St. Eusebius, and 
 afterwards the house and church of Mt. 
 Mary’s in Posterula. Thither they carried 
 the miraculous picture, and placed it in a 
 private chapel in the monastery. Here the 
 picture and its history passed almost into 
 complete oblivion, and when the lay 
 brother, Augustine Orsetti, the last surviv¬ 
 ing member of the Order, who had taken 
 vows in the old convent of St. Matthew, 
 died in 1853, at the age of 86, there re¬ 
 mained, perhaps, not a single individual 
 who knew that the neglected picture, hung 
 away in a private chapel of the monastery, 
 was the famous miraculous painting ven¬ 
 erated for centuries in the church of St. 
 Matthew. 
 
 —12— 
 
The Wonderful Way in Which by Divine 
 Providence, the Picture Come Into the 
 Possession of St. Alphonsus’ 
 
 Church on the Esquiline 
 
 A PRIEST of the Redemptorist Order, 
 Father Michael Marchi, a Roman by 
 birth, was in his youth, a frequent visitor 
 at the monastery of the Augustinians. He 
 began to go there about the year of 1840, 
 and continued his visit for a dozen years 
 or more. During this time he frequently 
 called on the old lay brother, Augustin 
 Orsetti. The good brother, in the last 
 years of his life, was almost wholly blind, 
 and could seldom leave his cell. It was a 
 great comfort to him to have someone to 
 talk to. His conversation naturally turned 
 on the past and on pious subjects, and fre¬ 
 quently would he relate that the picture 
 which was now in the monastery’s private 
 chapel was formerly highly venerated in 
 the church of St. Matthew, and that a 
 yearly festival in honor of the Blessed Vir¬ 
 gin was celebrated in thanksgiving for the 
 wonders she wrought through the instru¬ 
 mentality of that picture. Often would 
 the old man repeat, with a certain solici¬ 
 tude and in an impressive manner:“Mind, 
 Michael, our Blessed Lady of St. Mat¬ 
 thew’s is that which is in the private 
 chapel. Don’t forget it.” After a pause 
 he would repeat: “The miracluous pic¬ 
 ture of St. Matthew’s is that in our private 
 chapel;” and then he would add: “Indeed 
 
 —13— 
 
it is! Indeed it is! Do you understand 
 me? Ah, it was indeed a miraculous pic¬ 
 ture!” 
 
 In the year 185 5, in compliance with 
 the will of Pius IX., the Superior general 
 of the Redemptorists fixed his residence in 
 Rome. To this end the Order purchased 
 the villa before mentioned, situated on the 
 Esquiline Hill, between the church of St. 
 Mary Major and that of St. John Lateran. 
 At his death in 1707, Cardinal Nerli be¬ 
 queathed his villa to a pious institution. 
 In the course of time both the villa and the 
 adjoining gardens had become the prop¬ 
 erty of the princely family of the Gaetani. 
 When the place came into possession of 
 the Redemptorist Fathers, the villa was 
 altered into a cloister, and beside it was 
 built the church of St. Alphonsus. 
 
 Michael Marchi Becomes a Redemptorist 
 TN THE same year, 1855, Michael Marchi 
 was received into the order, and was 
 the first novice in the new college. Here, 
 also, after completing his novitiate, he 
 made his vows. Three or four years after 
 this, the chronicler of the house was oc¬ 
 cupied in the study of the circumjacent 
 antiquities of the Esquiline, and, as he 
 perused the different authors, he came 
 across many references to the old church 
 of St. Matthew, and discovered, beyond a 
 doubt, that in this church there had been 
 a miraculous picture of our Blessed Lady. 
 He related his discoveries to his brethren, 
 
 14— 
 
and among them to Father Marchi, who in 
 turn related all that he had learned from 
 the old lay brother, Augustin Orsetti. It 
 was now known that the picture was still 
 in existence; but of its history, or of the 
 Virgin’s wish that she be honored in that 
 picture between the church of St. Mary 
 Major and that of St. John Lateran, no one 
 seemed to be aware. 
 
 There the matter rested, until an in¬ 
 cident in 18 63 again drew attention to the 
 miraculous picture, and threw unexpected 
 light on the whole subject. 
 
 Very Rev. Father Blosi’s, S. J., Words 
 
 TN that year the Very Rev. Father Francis 
 Blosi, S. J., an intelligent and zealous 
 worshipper of the Mother of God, used to 
 preach every Saturday in the church of the 
 Gesu, on the virtues and glories of Mary. 
 
 His sermon on the first Saturday in 
 February was on the ancient miraculous 
 picture of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. 
 There is no doubt that it was by her own 
 inspiration he had selected the subject. 
 The Redemptorist Fathers heard of this 
 sermon, and forthwith some of them called 
 on the preacher and asked him to favor 
 them with a loan of the manuscript. He 
 did so cheerfully, and gave them, besides, 
 a great deal of further information on the 
 subject. 
 
 We shall here quote a few passages 
 from the sermon in question: 
 
 —15— 
 
❖ 
 
 ‘It is my wish to take up my abode 
 between my beloved Church of St. 
 Mary Major and that of my dear 
 adopted son St. John.” 
 
 »»» * » » * »-»* » * ^ x* aT. aT. . t. a». >» . .t . *t. * ■ ^ >«» «■»■«*** *** • 
 
“I shall speak today on a picture of our 
 Blessed Lady which was once famous for 
 the miracles and cures wrought through 
 its means, but which for sixty years past 
 has shown no sign of the supernatural; 
 and the reason of this in my private opin¬ 
 ion, is, because for the last sixty years it 
 has been housed away as a private pos¬ 
 session, and is no longer exposed, as in 
 former times, to the public worship of the 
 faithful.” 
 
 Recounting the history of the picture, 
 he narrated how the Blessed Virgin had 
 signified her wish that the picture should 
 be venerated between the church of St. 
 Mary Major and that of St. John Lateran, 
 after which he exclaimed: 
 
 ”0 may God grant that among my 
 hearers there may be some one who knows 
 where that picture now is, and who would 
 make known to the party retaining it the 
 expressed will of the Mother of God! We 
 may hope that whoever holds the picture, 
 when thus informed, may be moved to 
 recognize the wrong he is guilty of, and 
 place the picture again in some church 
 situated between the Esquiline and the 
 Caelian as an object of public veneration.” 
 
 The learned Jesuit concluded his dis¬ 
 course with the following words: 
 
 “Who knows but the discovery of this 
 picture is reserved for our time, and that 
 the blessed virgin who loves to be known 
 as our Lady of Perpetual Help has an- 
 
 —17— 
 
nexed to its discovery the granting of that 
 peace and tranquility so much to be de¬ 
 sired. Fortunate, may they esteem them¬ 
 selves who can help to bring about the 
 restoration of this picture to public vener¬ 
 ation.” 
 
 Redemptorists Claim the Picture 
 
 A FTER reading that sermon, it became, 
 as may well be supposed, the ardent 
 wish of the Redemptorist Fathers, to see 
 that miraculous picture restored to public 
 veneration, and to have it, if possible, in 
 their own church of St. Alphonsus. They 
 considered that they had a special claim to 
 the picture, not only because their church 
 is between the two, St. Mary Major’s and 
 St. John Lateran’s but also because they 
 own the site on which the church of St. 
 Matthew formerly stood, and their church 
 of St. Alphonsus was substituted for that 
 of St. Matthew. The members of the or¬ 
 der, prayed earnestly to the Blessed Virgin 
 to inspire their superior-general to take 
 all steps necessary to bring about the de¬ 
 sired end. 
 
 The superior-general himself was as 
 anxious as any member of the order to 
 obtain the miraculous picture for St. Al- 
 phonsus’s church, yet he made no move in 
 the matter. The time had not yet come. 
 And thus passed two years. At length, 
 yielding to entreaties, he resolved to ask 
 his Holiness, Pius IX., for the picture. Ac- 
 
 —18— 
 
cordingly, in an audience obtained on the 
 11th of December, 1865, he related in a 
 few words the history of the painting, and 
 handed his petition to the Holy Father. 
 Pius IX., moved by that love of God’s 
 Mother so characteristic of him, took a 
 pen and, without a moment’s hesitation, 
 wrote the following words on the petition; 
 
 December 11, 1865. 
 
 “The Cardinal Prefect of the Propa¬ 
 ganda will send for the Superior of the 
 Community of St. Mary in Posterula, and 
 make known to him that it is our will that 
 the picture of the Blessed Virgin referred 
 to in this petition be returned to the 
 church between St. Mary Major’s, and St. 
 John Lateran’s, with the obligation, how¬ 
 ever, imposed on the Redemptorist of re¬ 
 placing the picture by some other respect¬ 
 able painting. 
 
 PIUS P. P. IX.” 
 
 Picture Is Removed to Redemptorist 
 Convent 
 
 T^VERYBODY knows what confidence the 
 Holy Father had in the intercession of 
 the ever blessed, the immaculate Mother 
 of God. He seized on every occasion to 
 manifest this confidence and strove, by all 
 means to infuse a like sentiment into the 
 hearts of the faithful. We do not think 
 we are much out of the way in saying that 
 it is our belief that his Holiness was in¬ 
 duced to issue the order above referred 
 
 —19— 
 
to, so readily, in the hope that our Lady 
 or Perpetual Help would come to the suc¬ 
 cor of the Eternal City, and restore peace 
 to the Church. 
 
 When all preliminaries had been gone 
 through, the day appointed by Providence 
 for the restoration of the picture at length 
 arrived. In the afternoon of the 19th of 
 January, 18 66, two Redemptorist fathers 
 repaired to St. Mary’s in Posterula, and re¬ 
 ceived the painting from the Very Rev. 
 Father Prior. Father Marchi found the 
 picture where he had seen it in his youth, 
 in the year 1840. It was wonderfully well 
 preserved. The only injuries done it were 
 caused by nails with which a cross-piece 
 had been fastened on behind, to which 
 strings of pearls and jewels had, it seemed, 
 been fastened over the heads of the 
 Blessed Virgin and the child. However, 
 these defects were quickly remedied. A 
 first-class artist succeeded in neatly cov¬ 
 ering up the holes, without interfering in 
 the least with any other part of the paint¬ 
 ing. 
 
 It only remained now to bring the pic¬ 
 ture and its wondrous history to the 
 knowledge of the pious people of the Eter¬ 
 nal City. To this end, the superiors of 
 the Redemptorist Order took immediate 
 steps, by the erection of a beautiful and 
 costly altar to our Lady of Perpetual 
 Help. Over this altar the miraculous pic¬ 
 ture was hung, and, on its right, a paint¬ 
 ing of St. Matthew, to whom the former 
 
 20— 
 
church had been dedicated, and on its left, 
 one of St. Cletus pope and martyr, who 
 had founded the ancient edifice. 
 
 The Solemn Procession 
 
 F ROM the 19th of January, 1866, to the 
 26th day of April, the picture was kept 
 in a private chapel of the Redemptorist 
 College. On this latter date, the feast of 
 Our Lady of Good Counsel, it was carried 
 in solemn procession through the streets 
 of the neighborhood before being placed 
 over the altar specially built for its ven¬ 
 eration. Along the streets strewn with 
 flowers, palms and laurel branches, there 
 were that day, it was computed, over twen¬ 
 ty thousand people. The houses were all 
 decorated, as is the custom in Rome on 
 great festivals, with flags and banners, 
 and a bright drapery streamed from win¬ 
 dows and balconies. 
 
 When the appointed route had been 
 gone over, the procession entered the 
 church of St. Alphonsus. The church had 
 been most gorgeously decorated for the 
 occasion, and the innumerable lamps and 
 tapers burning made the interior one blaze 
 of light. The Right Rev. Bishop gave 
 benediction with the blessed sacrament 
 three times, and then the miraculous pic¬ 
 ture was placed over the high altar, there 
 to remain during the Triduum. 
 
 The devotions of the Triduum, on the 
 
 —21— 
 
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 Brother Orsettl points out the Mi¬ 
 raculous Picture to Michael Marchi. 
 
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27th, 28th and 29th of April, were as fol¬ 
 lows: In the forenoon, a solemn ponti- 
 
 cal mass was celebrated at the high altar, 
 the first day by the Most Rev. Arch¬ 
 bishop of Petra, on the second and third 
 day, by the Bishops of Terracina and 
 Acquila. From early morning to noon the 
 other altars were occupied by cardinals, 
 prelates, and regular and secular clergy 
 celebrating the holy sacrifice. In the after¬ 
 noon, the Litany of our Lady was sung, a 
 Redemptorist father preached, and car¬ 
 dinal gave benediction of the most holy 
 sacrament. The cardinals who thus offi¬ 
 ciated were their Eminences, Panebiazaco, 
 Pitra and Reisbach. At the close of the 
 Triduum, his Eminence, Cardinal Reis¬ 
 bach, intoned the Te Deuin in thanksgiv¬ 
 ing. The interest which the Roman peo¬ 
 ple took in the discovery of this jewel 
 passes description. Their joy was un¬ 
 bounded, and their devotion to the miracu¬ 
 lous picture most ardent. The Roman 
 newspaper which gave an account of the 
 celebration says, in this connection, that 
 the devotion of the Romans to the Im¬ 
 maculate Mother of God is so well known 
 a fact, that nobody doubted they would 
 manifest great interest in the solemn ex¬ 
 position of the miraculous painting. But, 
 it adds the enthusiasm and joyous mani¬ 
 festations called forth on this occasion sur¬ 
 passed all expectations. 
 
 After the Triduum, the painting wa» 
 allowed to remain all through the month 
 
7 
 
 of May, over the high altar. Before it the 
 May devotions were performed. On the 
 5th day of May, to the great joy of all, the 
 Holy Father came himself to venerate the 
 picture. He spoke of the great pleasure 
 and interest he had taken in all that had 
 been done and implored a blessing on all 
 who would devoutly visit the relic. He or¬ 
 dered a copy of the painting for his own 
 room, and as he informed the General of 
 the Redemptorist, spent some portion of 
 each day before it in veneration. 
 
 The rush to the church of St. Al- 
 phonsus continued unabated. Every hour 
 of the day one might see a number of 
 people of all classes before the picture, be¬ 
 seeching Our Lady of Perpetual Help to 
 succor them in their troubles and neces¬ 
 sities, and to vouchsafe to grant peace to 
 the Church, and grace and light to the 
 Holy Father. Numberless instances of 
 prayers heard and graces granted were 
 recorded every day. 
 
 Description of the Picture 
 
 T HE picture is twenty-two inches wide, 
 painted in the Byzantine style, on a 
 groundwork of gold. It betrays the hand 
 of a master, as able as he was pious, and, 
 according to the most competent critics, 
 dates from the thirteenth century. 
 
 Our Blessed Lady, in half figure, holds 
 her divine child on her left arm, with the 
 right gracefully held in view. The eyes of 
 
 —2 
 
the painting look straight at the beholder 
 with a loving, but earnest expression, and 
 seem to speak the anguish and sorrow of 
 her soul at the sufferings of her divine 
 Son. A dark blue mantle, with green lin¬ 
 ing, covers her head, and falls in easy fold* 
 down her shoulders. Just over the fore¬ 
 head a small star is on the mantle, and 
 immediately under this star is the band by 
 which the mantle is fastened round the 
 front part of the head. Along this band 
 run lines of gold, and similar lines are 
 seen along the edge of the red garment in 
 which she is clothed. Gold is also used in 
 accordance with the custom of that age, in 
 the bright lines by which, in contrast with 
 the deep blue shading, the folds of the 
 mantle are depicted. On either side of the 
 head four Greek letters are seen, which 
 stand for the words, “Mother of God.” 
 
 The divine child is in full figure, and 
 in His sweet countenance is expressed the 
 pain He feels at the sight of the cross 
 which the angel holds before Him. As if 
 seeking protection from His mother. He 
 grasps her right hartd. His robe is green, 
 His mantle a dark yellow, and His cincture 
 a carmine red. He wears sandals, one of 
 which is fastened to the foot, the other 
 hanging loose. Over His left shoulder are 
 the Greek letters signifying “Jesus Christ.” 
 
 On either side of the Virgin’s head, and 
 on a line with the lower part of her fea¬ 
 tures, is seen a half-figure angel in most 
 respectful attitude. The angel on the right 
 
 — 25 — 
 
holds in his hand a vessel in which are 
 the lance and the reed with a sponge. 
 Over him are the initials in Greek of Mi¬ 
 chael the Archangel. The angel on the 
 left holds up before the divine Child a 
 cross bearing the usual inscription. This 
 cross differs from the ordinary shape, in 
 that it has a second cross-piece midway 
 between the foot and the usual one. Be¬ 
 sides the cross the angel holds in his hand 
 four nails, and over him the initials in 
 Greek of St. Gabriel the Archangel. 
 
 The Artist’s Conception in the Picture 
 
 T HERE is a, traditional belief among the 
 faithful that the pious artist who 
 painted the picture wished to portray on 
 canvas the thought contained in the words 
 of David’s prophecy concerning Our 
 Blessed Redeemer. “My sorrow is ever 
 before me.” 
 
 Tradition tells the following story. The 
 Child Jesus was one day playing peacefully 
 in the little garden that surrounded His 
 humble home when suddenly there appear¬ 
 ed before Him two Archangels from the 
 highest heavens, bearing the blood-stained 
 instruments of His future passion and 
 death. The cross, the nails, the lance, and 
 the dripping sponge of vinegar and gall, by 
 command of the eternal Father, are boldly 
 displayed before the wondering eyes of the 
 tender Infant. At sight of this awful 
 vision the divine Child is startled and 
 frightened. Instinctively He rushes to His 
 
Mother’s arms for protection; His trem¬ 
 bling fingers clasp the Mother’s right 
 hand, while she with her left arm draws 
 Him tighter and nearer to her bosom. So 
 terrified was the Child at the sight of the 
 awful vision, that in His haste to reach 
 His Mother’s sheltering arms, one of His 
 sandals became unfastened, and in the 
 picture is seen to be falling from the naked 
 foot. 
 
 Amazed and alarmed, the divine Child 
 still gazes upon the blood-stained instru¬ 
 ments of torture as the angels continue to 
 hold them before Him. He beholds in this 
 awful vision all that He must suffer for the 
 salvation of sinful men. Hence He is in 
 very truth, a “Child of sorrows,” as much 
 as the, “Man of sorrows.” He already 
 recognizes all the suffering He must en¬ 
 dure, though as yet afar off—the physical 
 and mental agonies, the scorn of men, 
 their rejection of His divine mission, His 
 betrayal by Judas the weary lonely strug¬ 
 gle of Gethsemane, the traitor’s kiss, the 
 cords and buffets, the terrible pain and 
 shame of the scourging, and His unjust 
 condemnation by Pilate. He sees the 
 bloody steps from Pilate’s tribunal to Cal¬ 
 vary’s heights. With eyes riveted upon 
 those instruments of pain, He beholds the 
 maddened crowd and hears the yells, the 
 cries and curses of the ungrateful Jews, 
 urging on the Roman strangers to hasten 
 the work of nailing Him to the cross, that 
 He might die the death of a malefactor. 
 
 — 27 — 
 
Upon witnessing these fearful sights and 
 hearing these woeful sounds, His eyes fill 
 with tears and His heart bleeds. 
 
 As the vision of His future sufferings 
 and death unfolds itself before His tender 
 eyes now suffused with tears, He clings 
 fervently to His Mother’s breast, clasps 
 her hand with trembling fingers, and seeks 
 in her arms comfort and succor. Though 
 terrified. He feels perfectly safe and secure 
 in her sheltering arms. Thus ever and al¬ 
 ways, was the Mother the Child’s consoler 
 and Perpetual Help. Jesus turned to her, 
 ran, to her, cast Himself into her arms, 
 resting His head on her virginal bosom, 
 and there found sympathy and sweet 
 refuge. Mary, in a word was the perpetual 
 help of Jesus her Son and her God. This 
 then is the primary idea of the picture and 
 the noble conception of the pious artist. 
 
 Confraternity of Our Lady of Perpetual 
 Help and St. Alphonsus 
 
 T HE devotion to our Lady of Perpetual 
 Help grew so rapidly after the picture 
 had been set up for public veneration in 
 the church of St. Alphonsus, Rome, that 
 yielding to the wishes of the faithful a 
 Confraternity was established on the 4th 
 of June, 1871. 
 
 Almost from its inception the Confra¬ 
 ternity, like the devotion to the miracu¬ 
 lous picture, spread with marvelous rapid¬ 
 ity. The early zeal of the faithful fore- 
 
 — 28 — 
 
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shadowed the future. So extended had the 
 membership in the Confraternity grown by 
 the year 1876 that Pius IX. saw fit to 
 erect it into an archconfraternity. His 
 Holiness expressed the wish, at the same 
 time, that his own name be set down at 
 the head of the list of enrolled members. 
 
 Aim of the Confraternity 
 
 T HE aim of the Confraternity is 1st—To 
 serve and honor the Queen of Heaven 
 under the title of Our Lady of Perpetual 
 Help and to try to get others to do like¬ 
 wise. 
 
 2. To secure for one’s self and for 
 others the grace of final perseverance. 
 
 3. To have recourse to Our Lady of 
 Perpetual Help in all spiritual necessities, 
 especially in moments of temptation and 
 suffering. 
 
 4th. To fly to Our Mother of Perpet¬ 
 ual Help and also in temporal difficulties, 
 appealing to her motherly heart with all 
 confidence. 
 
 Membership 
 
 T O BECOME a member of the Archcon¬ 
 fraternity, it is necessary: 
 
 No. 1. To be registered as a member 
 in a church where the Confraternity is 
 canonically erected. 
 
 No. 2. To make the act of consecra- 
 
 — 30 — 
 
? • 
 
 tion to Our Lady and St. Alphonsus. This 
 may be made privately. 
 
 No. 3. Persons at a distance may be 
 enrolled as members when they apply for 
 admission. 
 
 No. 4. Members should always wear a 
 medal of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. 
 
 No. 5. Members should have in their 
 homes a blessed picture of Our Lady of 
 Perpetual Help. 
 
 Advantages of the Confraternity 
 
 1. The members are assured of the 
 constant protection of Our Lady of Per¬ 
 petual Help. 
 
 2. Through this devotion the mem¬ 
 bers are endowed with an influence almost 
 miraculous, for the softening and convert¬ 
 ing of obstinate sinners. 
 
 3. The members share in the public 
 devotions and other good works of the en¬ 
 tire Archconfraternity. 
 
 4. Finally by the express will of the 
 Superior-general of the Redemptorist 
 Fathers, the members have a special share 
 in the fruits and merits of the missions, 
 the pious exercises, the apostolic labors, 
 the prayers, the penances, and all other 
 good works without exception which are 
 performed by the entire congregation of 
 the Redemptorist Fathers. 
 
 — 31 — 
 
Plenary Indulgences 
 
 'T'HE members of the Confraternity may 
 gain a plenary indulgence on the day 
 they have their names registered. 
 
 In the hour of death. (Brief March 
 10th, 1876.) 
 
 On the Sunday preceding the feast of 
 the Nativity of St. John the Baptist (June 
 24.) 
 
 On the feast of Our Lady of Perpetual 
 Help (Sunday preceding feast of St. John 
 the Baptist), or on any one of the seven 
 days following the feast. 
 
 On the 2nd of August feast of St. Al- 
 phonsus, or on any one of the seven days 
 following the feast. 
 
 Once a month on the day chosen for 
 the renewal of the Act of Consecration. 
 
 Once a month or any day chosen if the 
 member recited daily for thirty days this 
 prayer: “O Mary, Mother of Perpetual 
 
 Help, pray for us; St. Alphonsus my Pro¬ 
 tector in all my wants make me have re¬ 
 course to Mary.” 
 
 Once a year by attending holy Mass 
 which is offered for the deceased members 
 on the first day permissable after the feast 
 of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. 
 
 The conditions for all the above indul¬ 
 gences are: Confession, Holy Communion, 
 Visit to the church where the Confraterni¬ 
 ty is established, with prayers for the in¬ 
 tention of the Pope. (If the visit cannot 
 be made to the church of the Confraternity, 
 
 — 32 — 
 
then any other church may be substituted. 
 Religious living in community may make 
 the visit in their church or oratory.) 
 
 Lastly a plenary indulgence may be 
 gained in the hour of death. 
 
 Partial Indulgences 
 
 S EVEN years and seven times forty days 
 if the members visit the church of the 
 Confraternity, or if that is impossible any 
 other church, on the feast of St. Michael, 
 Sept. 29, and St. Gabriel, March 24, also 
 on the feasts of St. Matthew Apostle, Sept. 
 21, Our Lady of Good Counsel, April 26. 
 
 Three hundred days if the members re¬ 
 cite morning, noon, and night, the follow¬ 
 ing ejaculation: “O, Mary, Mother of Per¬ 
 petual Help, pray for me. My Protector 
 St. Alphonsus, in all my wants make me 
 have recourse to Mary.” 
 
 Three hundred days once a day if they 
 devoutly visit a church where there is a 
 picture of Mother of Perpetual Help or St. 
 Alphonsus. 
 
 Sixty days for every work of piety or 
 charity of any kind. 
 
 All the above indulgences may be ap¬ 
 plied to the Souls in Purgatory. 
 
 The directors of the Confraternity have 
 the faculty of blessing and attaching the 
 Apostolic Indulgences to the medal of the 
 Confraternity. These Apostolic Indul¬ 
 gences are determined by each Pope at the 
 
 — 33 — 
 
beginning of his Pontificate. They are 
 very numerous. 
 
 There are many other prayers and 
 ejaculations to Our Lady of Perpetual 
 Help, to which indulgences are attached 
 for example one hundred days for saying: 
 “Mother of Perpetual Help, pray for us.” 
 For longer indulgenced prayers see 
 “Novena manual of Our Lady of Perpetual 
 Help.” 
 
 Some General Rules for Gaining 
 Indulgences 
 
 THE pious works prescribed for gaining 
 
 an indulgence, any confessor may com¬ 
 mute to other pious works for all who are 
 legitimately impeded. 
 
 To gain an indulgence attached to a 
 certain day, the confession that is re¬ 
 quired, may be made eight days before, 
 and the Communion may be received the 
 day before. 
 
 Those who receive Communion devout¬ 
 ly and with proper intention at least five 
 times a week, can gain all the indulgences 
 for which confession is required, no mat¬ 
 ter how long the time since their last con¬ 
 fession. 
 
 As to confession itself, those who or¬ 
 dinarily confess at least twice a month can 
 gain all the indulgences. 
 
 (Directions for erecting the Confra¬ 
 ternity may be found in the: “Novena 
 Manual of Our Lady of Perpetual Help.”) 
 
 — 34 — 
 
) f 
 
 A Practical Method of Making a Novena 
 
 S AY nine Hail Marys, the Litany of th« 
 Blessed Virgin and the following pray¬ 
 ers for nine days. If possible, go to Com¬ 
 munion every day during the Novena. 
 
 V—Thou hast been made for us O Lady, 
 a refuge. 
 
 R—A Helper in need and tribulation. 
 Let Us Pray 
 
 O Lord Jesus Christ, Who didst give 
 to us Thy Mother, Mary, whose renowned 
 image we venerate, to be a mother ever 
 ready to help us, grant, we beseech Thee, 
 that we who constantly implore her aid 
 may merit to enjoy perpetually the fruits 
 of Thy redemption, who livest and reign- 
 est forever and ever. Amen. 
 
 fndulgenced Prayers for the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 
 Day of Novena 
 
 Behold at thy feet, O Mother of Per¬ 
 petual Help! a wretched sinner who has 
 recourse to thee and confides in thee. O 
 Mother of Mercy! have pity on me. I hear 
 thee called by all, the Refuge and the Hope 
 of Sinners; be, then, my refuge and my 
 hope. Assist me for the love of Jesus 
 Christ; stretch forth thy hand to a mis¬ 
 erable, fallen creature, who recommends 
 himself to thee and who devotes himself to 
 thy service forever. I bless and thank Al¬ 
 mighty God, who in His mercy has given 
 me this confidence in thee, which I hold to 
 
 — 35 — 
 
be a pledge of my eternal salvation. It is 
 true that in the past I have miserably 
 fallen into sin because I had not recourse 
 to thee. I know, too, that thou wilt as¬ 
 sist me, if I recommend myself to thee; 
 but I fear that, in time of danger, I may 
 neglect to call on thee, and thus lose my 
 soul. This grace, then, I ask of thee, and 
 this I beg, with all the fervor of my soul, 
 that, in all the attacks of hell, I may ever 
 have recourse to thee. O Mary! help me. 
 O Mother of Perpetual Help, never suffer 
 me to lose my God. 
 
 4th, 5th, and 6th Day of Novena 
 
 O Mother of Perpetual Help! grant 
 that I may ever invoke thy most powerful 
 name which is the safeguard of the living 
 and the salvation of the dying. O purest 
 Mary! O sweetest Mary! let thy name 
 henceforth be ever on my lips. Delay not, 
 O Blessed Lady! to succor, me, whenever 
 I call on thee; for in all my temptations, 
 in all my needs, I shall never cease to call 
 on thee ever repeating thy sacred name, 
 Mary, Mary. 
 
 O what consolation, what sweetness, 
 what confidence, what emotion fills my 
 soul when I utter thy sacred name, or 
 even only think of thee! I thank the Lord 
 for having given thee, for my good, so 
 sweet, so powerful, so lovely a name. But 
 I will not be content with merely utter¬ 
 ing thy name. Let my love for thee prompt 
 
 — 36 — 
 
me ever to hail thee, Mother of Perpetual 
 Help. 
 
 7th, 8th, and 9th Day of Novena 
 
 0 mother of Perpetual Help, thou art 
 the dispenser of all the gifts which God 
 grants to us miserable sinners; and for 
 this end, He had made thee so powerful, 
 so rich, and so bountiful, in order that 
 thou mayest succor us in our misery. Thou 
 art the advocate of the most wretched 
 and abandoned sinners who have recourse 
 to thee; come to my help, I commend my¬ 
 self to thee. In thy hands I place my eter¬ 
 nal salvation, and to thee I intrust my soul. 
 Count me among thy most devoted serv¬ 
 ants; take me under thy protection, and it 
 is enough for me. For, if Thou protect 
 me, I fear nothing; not from my sins, be¬ 
 cause thou wilt obtain for me the pardon 
 of them; nor from the devils, because thou 
 art more powerful than all hell together; 
 nor even from Jesus, my Judge, because 
 by one prayer from thee He will be ap¬ 
 peased. But one thing I fear; that in the 
 hour of temptation, I may, through neg¬ 
 ligence fail to have recourse to thee and 
 thus perish miserably. Obtain for me 
 therefore, the pardon of my sins, love for 
 Jesus, final perseverance, and the grace 
 ever to have recourse to thee, O Mother of 
 Perpetual Help! 
 
 — 37 — 
 
Prayer in Spiritual Wants 
 
 O MOTHER of Perpetual Help, with the 
 greatest confidence I come before Thy 
 sacred Picture, in order to invoke thine 
 aid. Thou hast seen the wounds which 
 Jesus has been pleased to receive for our 
 sake; thou hast seen the Blood of thy Son 
 flowing for our salvation; thou knowest 
 how thy Son desires to apply to us the 
 fruit of His Redemption. Behold I cast 
 myself at thy feet, and pray thee to obtain 
 for my soul the grace I stand so much in 
 need of. O Mary, most loving of all moth¬ 
 ers, obtain for me from the heart of Jesus, 
 the source of every good, this grace (here 
 mention it.) O Mother of Perpetual Help 
 thou desirest our salvation far more than 
 we ourselves; thy Son has given thee to 
 us for our Mother; thou hast thyself 
 chosen to be called Mother of Perpetual 
 Help. I trust not in my merits, but in 
 thy powerful intercession; I trust in thy 
 goodness; I trust in thy motherly love. 
 Mother of Perpetual Help, for the love 
 thou bearest to Jesus, thy Son and my Re¬ 
 deemer, for the love of thy great servant 
 Alphonsus, for the love of my soul, ob¬ 
 tain for me the grace I ask from thee. 
 Amen. 
 
 Prayer in Temporal Wants 
 
 O MOTHER of Perpetual Help, numer¬ 
 ous clients continually surround thy 
 holy Picture, all imploring thy mercy. All 
 
 38 — 
 
bless thee as the assured help of the miser 
 able; all feel the benefit of thy maternal 
 protection. With confidence, then, do I 
 present myself before thee in my misery. 
 See, dear Mother, the many evils to which 
 we are exposed; see how numerous are 
 our wants. Trials and sorrows often de 
 press us; reverses of fortune and priva 
 tions are grievous, bring misery into our 
 homes; everywhere we meet the cross. 
 Have pity, compassionate Mother on us 
 and on our families; especially in this my 
 necessity (here mention it). Help me, O 
 my Mother, in my distress; deliver me 
 from all my ills; or if it be the will of 
 God that I should suffer still longer grant 
 that I may endure all with love and pa¬ 
 tience. This grace I expect of thee with 
 confidence, because thou art our Perpetual 
 Help. Amen. 
 
 «, 
 
 Prayer in Sickness 
 
 O DEAR MOTHER of Perpetual Help. 
 
 behold how much I suffer from this 
 my sickness. Together with the body my 
 soul is also afflicted. I have not even 
 strength to say a prayer as I ought to do. 
 Nothing is able to give me any relief. Even 
 the visit and compassion of my best 
 friends do not give me any comfort. 
 Hence my courage begins to fail; impa¬ 
 tience and sadness oppress my soul. In 
 this my great distress I put all my trust 
 in thee, most tender of all mothers. Thy 
 
compassionate heart will certainly har- 
 pity on me; yes most merciful Mother, 
 thou wilt not forget thy poor, afflicted 
 child. (Here mention sickness.) Obtain 
 then for me courage and strength to ac¬ 
 cept all these trials from the hand of God 
 with patience and resignation. If it is 
 for the good of my soul, grant that I may 
 recover my former health; but if it is the 
 will of God that I should suffer still longer, 
 or that this sickness should lead me to a 
 better life, I am perfectly resigned, for I 
 am sure that thou, O loving Mother, wilt 
 obtain for me the grace to do whatever 
 God demands of me. Amen. 
 
 Prayer for the Wants of the Church 
 
 O HOLY Virgin Mary, whom we love to 
 call Our Mother of Perpetual Help, 
 show us that thou dost merit this beauti¬ 
 ful title by continually shielding the 
 Church and its august Head with thy pro¬ 
 tection. Through the infinite merits of 
 Jesus Christ, which we offer by thee to the 
 Eternal Father, do thou obtain for sinners 
 the grace of a sincere repentance, for the 
 dying, the grace of a holy death, for the 
 souls of our deceased relations, the grace 
 of deliverance from the flames of Purga¬ 
 tory, and for all of us the grace of pardon 
 and abundant mercy. Amen. 
 

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 Pius IX. before the Miraculous Pic¬ 
 ture of Our Lady of Perpetual Succor 
 in the Church of the Redemptorista 
 in Rome. 
 
Prayer tor the Conversion of a Sinner 
 
 O MARY, Mother of Perpetual Help, 
 thou knowest so well the great value 
 of an immortal soul. Thou knowest what 
 It means, that every soul has been re¬ 
 deemed by the Blood of thy Divine Son, 
 thou wilt not then despise my prayer, if I 
 ask from thee the conversion of a sinner, 
 nay a great sinner who is rapidly hurrying 
 on towards eternal ruin. Thou, O good 
 merciful Mother, knowest well his irregu¬ 
 lar life. Remember that thou art the 
 refuge of sinners, remember that God has 
 given thee power to bring about the con¬ 
 version of even the most wretched sinners. 
 All that has been done for his soul, has 
 been unsuccessful; if thou dost not come 
 to his assistance, he will go from bad to 
 worse. Obtain for him an effectual grace 
 that he may be moved and brought back to 
 God and his duties. Send him, if necessary, 
 temporal calamities and trials, that he may 
 enter into himself, and put an end to his 
 sinful course. Thou, O most merciful 
 Mother, hast converted so many sinners 
 at the intercession of their friends, be, 
 then, also moved by my prayer, and bring 
 this unhappy soul to true conversion of 
 heart. O Mother of Perpetual Help, show 
 that thou art the Advocate and Refuge of 
 sinners. So I hope, so may it be. Amen 
 
 — 42 — 
 
Prayer for Financial Aid 
 
 IDEALIZING dear Mother Mary, that 
 - L '- thou art our perpetual help, not only 
 in spiritual but likewise in temporal ne¬ 
 cessities, we approach thee with submis¬ 
 sive and humble hearts, because we have 
 a child like confidence in thy power and 
 goodness, beseeching thee to assist us in 
 our present financial worry. Owing to 
 untoward circumstances which have arisen 
 in our lives, we are in dire want and pe¬ 
 cuniary embarrassment, being unable to 
 meet our honest debts. We are not ask¬ 
 ing, dearest Mother, for wealth, if the pos¬ 
 session of it, is not in accordance with the 
 holy will of God; we merely beg for that 
 assistance which will enable use to satisfy 
 our pressing obligations. We believe, dear 
 Mother, that thou art the Queen of heaven 
 and of earth, and as such the instrument 
 and special dispensation of thy divine Son 
 Jesus Christ; that thou hast acquired by 
 virtue of thy wonderful dignity, a sweet 
 jurisdiction over all creation. We believe 
 that thou art not only rich and bountiful, 
 but extremely kind and generous to all thy 
 loving children. We plead with thee then, 
 dear Mother, to obtain for us the help we 
 so urgently need in our present financial 
 difficulty. We thank thee, dear Lady, and 
 promise to publish far and wide, the mar 
 vels of thy glorious Picture. Amen. 
 
 — 43 — 
 
Prayer to Know One’s Vocation 
 
 B EHOLD at thy feet, O Mother of Per¬ 
 petual Help, a humble and lowly client 
 of thine, who is a prey to doubt and anxi¬ 
 ety concerning his vocation. As thou art 
 the established guide of poor mortals here 
 below, to thee do I send up my sighs and 
 tears, from this world’s tempestuous sea. 
 Knowing, dearest Mother of Perpetual 
 Help, that I can be saved only in that state 
 of life to which I have been attracted by 
 the superabundant graces thy divine Son 
 bestows on me; my one desire is to accom¬ 
 plish the holy will of God, in all that per¬ 
 tains to my future; for only in doing that 
 shall I succeed in working out my eternal 
 salvation. Meditating on those holy and 
 inspired words: “With fear and trembling 
 work out your salvation,” fills me with 
 dread and alarm lest following after the 
 allurements of a wicked world, because 
 more pleasing to my carnal inclinations, I 
 may neglect the divine attraction to a 
 higher life of perfection, and thus abusing 
 grace lose my soul and perish miserably. 
 O dearest Mother of Perpetual Help, guide 
 and direct me safely in the choice of a 
 state of life wherein I may best serve here 
 upon earth, the divine plans of my Lord 
 and Saviour, that hereafter I may see and 
 possess Him for all eternity. Amen. 
 
 — 44 — 
 
Prayer for Religious Vocations 
 
 O DEAR Virgin Mother, thou art recog¬ 
 nized as the perpetual help of religious 
 communities because thou dost form and 
 prepare the hearts of thy chosen children 
 who are called to imitate thy divine Son 
 unto perfection. Whilst upon earth thy 
 beloved Jesus, viewing the fruitful fields 
 didst say: “The harvest indeed is great, 
 but the laborers are few.” How true are 
 these words now. The harvest is ripe but 
 the laborers are few. Direct then to our 
 community, devout and generous subjects 
 who are actuated by a sincere desire to 
 continue the sublime work of Redemption 
 and publish everywhere, the glories of 
 Christ’s kingdom. There are many pure 
 and noble hearts which feel the divine at¬ 
 traction to the religious life, but fear to 
 take a forward step, because they see only 
 the sacrifices but not the reward. They 
 see the sword but not the divine and merci¬ 
 ful hand that inflicts the wound; they see 
 the cross but not the crown. Obtain for 
 these virginal souls, the courage necessary 
 to renounce the allurements of a wicked 
 world that they may follow in the foot¬ 
 steps of thy adorable Son Jesus Christ. 
 Hence we beseech thee, O Mother of Per¬ 
 petual Help, to send to our community 
 youthful hearts, animated with a desire 
 for their own sanctification and the salva¬ 
 tion of immortal souls. Lastly dearest 
 Lady as thou dost know so well the value 
 
 — 45 — 
 
ojl* a religious vocation, obtain for us thy 
 devoted children, the greatest of all gifts, 
 the grace of final perseverance. Amen. 
 
 Prayer of the Conversion of Non-Catholics 
 THRUSTING in thy goodness, O sweet 
 Lady of Perpetual Help, because thou 
 art the Mother of mercy and the refuge of 
 sinners, we beseech thee to look with pity¬ 
 ing eyes upon those who are living out¬ 
 side the pale of the one true Church. So 
 many nsn-Catholics possessed of kind 
 hearts, with a charity for God’s poor, are 
 honestly seeking religious truth, but with 
 difficulty, because they are blinded by mis¬ 
 information and inherited prejudice. 
 These souls O Mother of Perpetual Help, 
 are destitute of the knowledge of the one 
 true faith, yet they must be dear to thee as 
 they are to thy adorable Son Jesus, be¬ 
 cause redeemed by His precious blood. We 
 plead with thee O Mary, for the conver¬ 
 sion of all those who walk in the darkness 
 of error and sin. Virgin Mother, as thou 
 art called the: “Seat of Wisdom,” en¬ 
 lighten the minds of our separated breth¬ 
 ren, that they may discover the consoling 
 truths of our holy faith, and having dis¬ 
 covered them, willingly accept and believe 
 in them. O Mary, grant us this wonderful 
 favor, that all immortal souls ransomed 
 by the blood of thy dying Son, may soon 
 be united to us by the bonds of divine 
 charity, so that there may be but one fold 
 and one Shepherd. Amen. 
 
 —4 6 — 
 
Prayer for Perseverance 
 
 O HOLY Virgin Mary, who to inspire u» 
 with boundless confidence, hast been 
 pleased to take the sweet name of Per¬ 
 petual Help, I implore thee to come to my 
 aid always and everywhere; in my tempta¬ 
 tions; after my falls; in my difficulties; 
 In all the miseries of life; and above all, at 
 the hour of my death. Give me, loving 
 Mother, the desire, nay more, the habit 
 always to have recourse to thee, for I feel 
 assured that if I invoke thee with fidelity 
 thou wilt be faithful to come to my as¬ 
 sistance. Obtain for me then, this grace 
 of graces, the grace to pray to thee with¬ 
 out ceasing, and with childlike prayer that 
 I may ensure thy perpetual help and final 
 perseverance. O Mother of Perpetual Help, 
 pray for me now and at the hour of my 
 death. Amen. 
 
 Prayer of St. Alphonsus, to be Recited 
 Every Day During No vena 
 
 M OST holy and Immaculate Virgin and 
 my Mother Mary, to thee, who art the 
 Mother of my Lord, the Queen of the world, 
 the advocate, the hope, and the refuge of 
 sinners, I have recourse today, I who am 
 the most miserable of all. I render thee 
 my most humble homages, O great Queen; 
 and I thank thee for all the graces thou 
 hast conferred on me until now; particu¬ 
 larly for having delivered me from hell. 
 
 — 47 — 
 
which I have so often deserved. I love 
 thee, O most amiable Lady; and for the 
 love which I bear thee, I promise to serve 
 thee always, and to do all in my power to 
 make others love thee also. I place in thee 
 all my hopes, I confide my salvation to thy 
 care. Accept me for thy servant, and re¬ 
 ceive me under thy mantle, O Mother of 
 mercy. And since thou art so powerful 
 with God, deliver me from all temptations, 
 or rather obtain for me strength to tri¬ 
 umph over them until death. Of thee I 
 ask a perfect love of Jesus Christ. From 
 thee I hope to die a good death. O my 
 Mother, by the love which thou bearest to 
 God, I beseech thee, to help me at all 
 times, but especially at the last moments 
 of my life. Leave me not, I beseech thee, 
 until thou seest me safe in heaven, bless¬ 
 ing thee and singing thy mercy for all 
 eternity. So I hope. So may it be. Amen. 
 
 Twelve Invocations to Our Lady of Per¬ 
 petual Help 
 
 V.—O Mother of Perpetual Help, thou 
 whose very name inspires confidence. 
 R.—Help me, O loving Mother. 
 
 V.—That I may be victorious, in the trying 
 hour of temptation. 
 
 R.—Help me, O loving Mother. 
 
 V.—That I may quickly rise again should 
 I have the misfortune to fall into sin. 
 R.—Help me, O loving Mother. 
 
 V.—That I may break asunder any bonds 
 
 — 48 — 
 
of Satan, in which I may become en¬ 
 tangled. 
 
 R.—Help me, 0 loving Mother. 
 
 V.—Against the seductions of the world, 
 evil companions and bad books. 
 
 R.—Help me, O loving Mother. 
 
 V.—That I may soon return to my former 
 fervor, should I ever become luke* 
 warm. 
 
 R.—Help me, O loving Mother. 
 
 V.—In my preparation for the sacraments 
 and the performance of my Christian 
 duties. 
 
 R,—Help me, O loving Mother. 
 
 V.—In all the trials and troubles of life. 
 
 R.—Help me, O loving Mother. 
 
 V.—Against my own inconstancy, that I 
 may persevere to the end. 
 
 R.—Help me, O loving Mother. 
 
 V.—That I may ever love and serve thee 
 and always invoke thy assistance. 
 
 R.—Help me, O loving Mother. 
 
 V.—That I may be able to induce others 
 to love, serve and pray to thee. 
 
 R.—Help me, O loving Mother. 
 
 V.—O Mother to my last hour to my last 
 breath,do thou ever— 
 
 R.—Help me, O loving Mother. 
 
 — 49 — 
 
Monthly Act of Consecration to Our Lady 
 of Perpetual Help 
 
 I , DESIRING to consecrate myself entirely 
 to the service of the ever Blessed Vir¬ 
 gin Mary, from whom after God, I expect 
 all help and assistance in life and in death, 
 unite myself with the members of this 
 pious archconfraternity, which has been 
 erected in honor of Our Lady of Perpetual 
 Help. 
 
 And as my special patron I choose the 
 glorious St. Alphonsus, that he may obtain 
 for me a true and lasting devotion to the 
 ever Blessed Virgin, who is honored by so 
 sweet a name. 
 
 I promise, moreover, to renew my con¬ 
 secration to the holy Mother of God and 
 St. Alphonsus, on the . . .day of the month 
 or on the Sunday following, and also to re¬ 
 ceive the holy sacraments. O Mother of 
 Perpetual Help, receive me as thy servant, 
 and grant that I may experience thy con¬ 
 stant motherly assistance. I promise to 
 have recourse to thee in all my spiritual 
 and temporal necessities. My holy patron 
 St. Alphonsus, obtain me me an ardent 
 love for Jesus Christ, and constancy in 
 invoking the Mother of Perpetual Help. 
 
 — 50 — 
 
Act of Consecration to St. Alphonsus 
 
 O THOU most zealous doctor of the 
 Church, St. Alphonsus, I—N. N. 
 though unworth to be thy servant, yet 
 emboldened by the goodness of thy heart, 
 and because of my own great desire to 
 please thee, kneel before thee now in the 
 presence of the ever blessed Trinity, of my 
 guardian angel, and of the whole host of 
 heaven, and choose thee for my father; 
 and, after Mary, for my patron and pro¬ 
 tector, I most solemnly pledge myself to 
 be ever thy assiduous servant and to do 
 all that I can to make others love thee. I 
 beg of thee then, of my glorious patron, 
 through the love of Jesus and Mary, to 
 receive me into the number of thy children, 
 and to watch over me in all times and 
 places. Obtain for me the grace to imi¬ 
 tate thy virtues, and to advance daily on 
 the path of Christian perfection. Obtain 
 for me also, O my father, a holy indiffer¬ 
 ence to creatures, and a tender and abid¬ 
 ing devotion to the most Blessed Sacra¬ 
 ment, and to my Mother Mary, the spirit 
 of prayer, and a burning zeal for the salva¬ 
 tion of souls. Accept this prayer and con¬ 
 secration of myself to thy service. Be ever 
 nigh to assist me during life, but especial¬ 
 ly at the hour of my death, that having 
 honored and served thee on earth, I may 
 at length be found worthy to enjoy with 
 thee the joys of heaven for all eternity. 
 Amen. 
 
 — 51 — 
 
Ejaculation 
 
 O Blessed Alphonsus, my beloved 
 father, obtain for me the grace to have re¬ 
 course to Mary in all my necessities. 
 
Litany in Honor of Our Lady of Perpetual 
 
 Help 
 
 L ORD have mercy on us. 
 
 Christ have mercy on us. 
 Lord have mercy on us. 
 
 Christ hear us. 
 
 Christ graciously hear us. 
 
 God the Father of Heaven, 
 
 Have mercy on us. 
 
 God, the Son, Redeemer of the world. 
 Have mercy on us. 
 
 God the Holy Ghost 
 
 Have mercy on us. 
 
 Holy Trinity, one God. 
 
 Have mercy on us. 
 
 Holy Mary. 
 
 Holy Mother of God. 
 
 Holy Virgin of Virgins. 
 
 Mother of Christ. 
 
 Queen conceived without the stain of 
 original sin. 
 
 Queen of the most Holy Rosary. 
 
 Our Lady of Perpetual Help, 
 
 O Mother of Perpetual Help, whose very 
 name inspires confidence. 
 
 That I may love God with all my heart. 
 
 That I may in all things conform my will 
 to that of thy Divine Son. 
 
 >— 53 — 
 
 Pray For Me 
 
That I may always shun sin, the only" 
 real evil, 
 
 That I may always remember my last 
 end. 
 
 That I may often and devoutly receive the 
 sacraments. 
 
 That I may avoid every proximate occa¬ 
 sion of sin. 
 
 That I may never neglect prayer. 
 
 That I may ever remember to invoke 
 thee, particularly in time of tempta¬ 
 tion. 
 
 That I may always be victorious in the 
 hour of temptation. 
 
 That I may generously pardon my ene¬ 
 mies. 
 
 That I may arise quickly, should I have 
 the misfortune of falling into mortal 
 sin. 
 
 That I may courageously resist the seduc- 
 tons of evil companions. 
 
 That I may be strong against my own 
 inconstancy. 
 
 That I may not delay my conversion from 
 day to day. 
 
 That I may labor zealously to eradicate 
 my evil habits. 
 
 That I may ever love and serve thee. 
 
 That I may lead others to love and serve 
 thee. 
 
 That I may live and die in the friendship 
 of God. 
 
 In all necessities of body and soul. 
 
 In sickness and pain. 
 
 In poverty and distress. 
 
 In persecution and abandonment. 
 
 In grief and dereliction of mind. 
 
 — 54 — 
 
 Pray For Me 
 
In time of war, famine and contagion. " 
 
 In every danger of sin. 
 
 When assailed by the evil spirits. 
 
 When tempted by the allurements of a 
 deceitful world. 
 
 When struggling against the inclinations 
 of my corrupt nature. 
 
 When tempted against the holy virtue of 
 purity. 
 
 When death is nigh. 
 
 When the loss of my senses shall warn 
 me that my earthly career is at an 
 end. 
 
 When the thought of my approaching dis¬ 
 solution shall fill me with fear and 
 terror. 
 
 When at the decisive hour of death the 
 evil spirit will endeavor to plunge 
 my soul into despair. 
 
 When the minister of God shall give me 
 his last absolution and his last bless¬ 
 ing. 
 
 When my friends and relations surround¬ 
 ing my bed, moved with compassion, 
 shall invoke thy clemency in my be¬ 
 half. 
 
 When the world will vanish from my 
 sight, and my heart will cease to 
 beat. 
 
 When I shall yield my soul into the hands 
 of its Creator. 
 
 When my soul will appear before its Sov¬ 
 ereign Judge. 
 
 When the irrevocable sentences will be 
 pronounced. 
 
 —55 
 
 Pray For Me 
 
When I will be suffering in Purgatory, and 
 sighing for the vision of God. 
 
 Lamb of God Who takest away the sins of 
 the world. 
 
 Spare us, O Lord. 
 
 Lamb of God Who takest away the sins of 
 the world, 
 
 Hear us, O Lord. 
 
 Lamb of God Who takest away the sins oi 
 the world, 
 
 Have mercy on us, O Lord. 
 
 Come to my help, O loving Mother. 
 
 LET US PRAY. 
 
 O Almighty and Merciful God, Who, in 
 order to succor the human race, has willed 
 the Blessed Virgin Mary to become the 
 Mother of thy only begotten Son, grant we 
 beseech Thee, that by her intercession we 
 may avoid the contagion of sin and serve 
 Thee with a pure heart through the same 
 Christ, our Lord. Amen. 
 
 (An indulgence of 100 days, to be 
 gained once a day, is granted for the afore¬ 
 said prav^** —Rescript of May 17, 1866.) 
 
 — 56 — 
 
MEDITATION 
 Mary our Hope 
 
 . »** *Ta *T» aT* *T» »Ta aT* *Ta ^Ta aTa *Ta *T* *Ta aT* *Xa *Ta aT* *x. *T» *Ta -T. aT- *T^ aT* *T» aX^ 
 
 O UR life on earth is a warfare, a time 
 of many miseries. In our sorrows, 
 sufferings and trials, we must imitate 
 Jesus Christ, and like Him fly to our 
 Mother Mary for strength and comfort and 
 perpetual help. Let this be the resolution 
 of our novena to be kept all the days of 
 our life. 
 
 Of Jesus Christ, St. Paul wrote: “For 
 in that He himself hath suffered and been 
 tempted He is able to succor them also 
 that are tempted.” To Mary too, it was 
 given to suffer as Queen of martyrs so 
 that she might be able to assist this suffer¬ 
 ing, sinful world. And not only did she 
 learn like Jesus what sorrow and suffer¬ 
 ing were, but, as Mother and comforter of 
 the Man of sorrows, she realized from ex¬ 
 perience how to compassionate that poor 
 humanity in us. Wherefore it was that 
 
 —57 
 
the Creator and Father of mankind placed 
 in her keeping His own divine Son in 
 Whom were all human infirmities except 
 
 sin. And when she had proved, and oh, 
 
 / 
 
 how well!—her fitness, her skill, her ten¬ 
 derness in comforting, she was left by her 
 dying Son to be our Mother, of Perpetual 
 Help. “There stood by the cross” of 
 Jesus His Mother to comfort and console 
 Him as far as it lay within her power. It 
 was then that Mary’s sublime vocation, 
 
 decreed by God from all eternity was rati- 
 
 % 
 
 tied by the dying lips of her Son when He 
 said to her: “Woman behold thy Son!” 
 And to the disciple: “Behold thy Mother!” 
 giving the world to Mary and Mary to the 
 world, to be towards all men what she had 
 
 always been to Him, a Mother of Perpetual 
 Help. 
 
 O Jesus we thank Thee for all thou hast 
 suffered for us even from Thy infancy,— 
 for us so little worthy of Thy love and 
 Thy mercy. O Jesus we are grateful to 
 Thee for the gift of Thy own Mother. 
 After the gift of Thyself and Thy redeem¬ 
 ing blood the greatest Thy Sacred Heart 
 could give us was Thy Mother to be for 
 what she had ever been to Thee, a Mother 
 
 — 58 — 
 
of Perpetual Help. “Mary,” says St. Al- 
 phonsus, “is all eyes to pity and succor us 
 in our necessities.” She is the advocate of 
 even the most miserable and abandoned 
 who have recourse to her, and she rejoices 
 when she consoles the miserable. “O sin¬ 
 ner,” says St. Alphonsus, “whoever you 
 are, do not despair, but have confidence in 
 this Lady with the assurance of being 
 helped, for you will find her with her 
 hands full of mercy and of graces.” O 
 Mother of Perpetual Help grant that we 
 may always invoke thy most powerful and 
 beautiful name, which is the safeguard of 
 the living and the salvavtion of the dying. 
 
 — 59 — 
 
•Churches and Cities Where the Con¬ 
 fraternity Has Been Canonically 
 
 
 Established 
 
 Eastern Cities 
 
 Our Lady of Perpetual Help, 52 6 59th 
 St., Sation C, Brooklyn, N. Y. 
 
 S. Joseph’s, 108 Franklin St., Roches¬ 
 ter, N. Y. 
 
 St. Philomena’s, 1421 Liberty Ave., 
 Pittsburgh, Pa. 
 
 Most Holy Redeemer, 173 E. 3rd St., 
 Grand Central Station, New York, N. Y. 
 
 St. Peter’s, 1019 No. 5th St., Station S, 
 Philadelphia, Pa. 
 
 St. Mary’s 258 Pine St., Buffalo, New 
 York. 
 
 St. Mary’s Rectory, Annapolis, Md. 
 
 St. Michael’s, 7 S. Wolfe St., Balti¬ 
 more, Md. 
 
 St. Alphonsus, 300 West Broadway, 
 Station S, New York, N. Y. 
 
 St. James, 1225 East Eager St., Balti¬ 
 more, Md. 
 
 Our Lady of Perpetual Help, 1545 Tre- 
 mont St., Boston, Mass. 
 
 — 60 — 
 
St. Boniface’s, 174 Diamond St., Sta¬ 
 tion O, Philadelphia, Pa. 
 
 Sacred Heart, 600 S. Third St., Balti¬ 
 more, Md. 
 
 St. Wenceslaus’, 2111 Ashland Ave., 
 Baltimore, Md. 
 
 St. Clement’s College, P. O. Box 436, 
 Saratoga Springs, N. Y. 
 
 Immaculate Conception, 3 89 E. 150th 
 St., Station R, New York, N. Y. 
 
 Our Lady of Perpetual Help, 323 E 
 61st St., Station Y, New York, N. Y. 
 
 St. Clement’s, Box J, Ephrata, Lancaster 
 Co., Pa. 
 
 St. Gerards, 240 W. Robb Ave., Lima, 
 Ohio. 
 
 Western Cities 
 
 St. Alphonsus, 1118 N. Grand Ave., St. 
 Louis, Mo. 
 
 St. Alphonsus, 2030 Constance St., New 
 Orleans, La. 
 
 St. Michael’s, 1633 Cleveland Ave., Chi¬ 
 cago, Ill. 
 
 Our Lady of Perpetual Help, 325 Hunter 
 Ave., Kansas City, Mo. 
 
 Holy Redeemer, 1721 Junction Ave., 
 Detroit, Mich. 
 
 St. Alphonsus, 224 Carrier St., Grand 
 Rapids, Mich. 
 
 St. Maximus Church, Daly City, Cal. 
 
 — 61 — 
 
St. Alphonsus, 1429 Wellington Ave., 
 Chicago, Ill. 
 
 Sacred Heart, 2315 6th Ave., Seattle, 
 Wash. 
 
 St. Joseph’s 605 West 6th Ave., Den¬ 
 ver, Colo. 
 
 St. Alphonsus, 2 618 Boies Ave., Daven¬ 
 port, Iowa. 
 
 Holy Redeemer, 261 East Portland 
 Blvd., Portland, Oregon. 
 
 St. Alphonsus, 3 07 Kearney Ave., Fres¬ 
 no, Cal. 
 
 St. Gerard’s, 1617 Iowa St., San An¬ 
 tonio, Texas. 
 
 St. Thomas, 919 Indiana Ave., Coeur 
 d’Alene, Idaho. 
 
 Holy Name, 3014 No. 45th St., Omaha, 
 Nebraska. 
 
 St. Joseph’s 144 S. Milwood Avenue, 
 Wichita, Kansas. 
 
 Our Lady of Perpetual Help, 2191 Ne¬ 
 braska St., San Antonio, Texas. 
 
 St. Mary’s 211 So. Newlin Ave., Whit¬ 
 tier, Los Angeles Co., California. 
 
 Our Lady of Perpetual Help, 1108 W. 
 32nd St., Oklahoma City, Okla. 
 
 Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Albany, 
 Oregon. 
 
 Our Lady of Perpetual Help, 8416 
 Foothill Blvd., Oakland, Cal. 
 
 - 62 —- 
 
St. Joseph’s 405 E. South St., Lebanon, 
 Indiana. 
 
 St. Anthony’s, 6 07 W. Seminole Ave., 
 Okmulgee, Oklahoma. 
 
 Canadian Cities 
 
 St. Patrick’s 141 McCaul St., Toronto, 
 Canada. 
 
 St. Peter’s, St. John, North, New Bruns¬ 
 wick, Canada. 
 
 St. Patrick’s 250 Grand Allee, Quebec, 
 Canada. 
 
 St. Ann’s, 33 Basin St., Montreal, 
 Canada. 
 
 St. Patrick’s 1245 Dundas St., Sub Sta¬ 
 tion, 4, London, Ont., Canada. 
 
 St. Alphonsus, 341 Monroe Ave., East 
 Kildonan, Manitoba, Canada. 
 
 Redemptorist Fathers, 2140 Cameron 
 St., Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. 
 
 St. Gerard’s, Box 696, Yorkton, Saskat¬ 
 chewan, Canada. 
 
 Our Lady of Perpetual Help, 375 6 Sixth 
 Ave W., Vancouver, B. C., Canada. 
 
 St. Alphonsus, 11828 85th St., Edmon¬ 
 ton, Alberta, Canada. 
 
 — 63 —