Episode 1238: Our Lady Help of Christians

Mary, the Help of Christians (Latin: Sancta Maria Auxilium Christianorum) is a Roman Catholic title of the Blessed Virgin Mary, based on a devotion now associated with a feast day of the General Roman Calendar on 24 May.

The Catholic saint, John Chrysostom was the first person to use this Marian title in year 345 AD. Don Bosco also propagated the same devotion Mary, Help of Christians. It is also associated with the defense of Christian Europe (Latin and Greek), the north of Africa and the Middle East from non-Christian peoples during the Middle Ages.

During the expansion of the Islamic Ottoman Empire intended to invade Christian Europe in 1571, Pope Pius V invoked Christian armies and its victory achieved was consequently attributed to the intercession of Mary under this devotional title.

Pope Leo XIII signed and granted a pontifical decree of canonical coronation towards the Turin image on 13 February 1903. The rite of coronation was executed on 17 May 1903 by Cardinal Agostino Richelmy, and is now permanently enshrined within the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians.