Feast Day of Our Mother Of Perpetual Help / 150th Anniversary of Making Her Known

Here comes another overdue post! Last week, June 27, 2016, the National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help (Redemptionist Church) or much better known as the Baclaran Church celebrated the feast day of the venerated icon of Our Lady. Interestingly, this year also marked the icon’s 150th year of making her known.
The icon of Our Mother of Perpetual Help has been in Rome since 1949 but the icon underwent restoration in 1866, the same year Blessed Pius IX entrusted the icon of Our Mother of Perpetual Help to the Redemptorist congregation, giving them the mission to make her known throughout the world. The icon was canonically crowned a year after! Here in the Philippines the venerated icon arrived in 1906 and was initially enshrined to a small wooden church which now became one of the largest Marian shrines in the world.  In celebration of its Jubilee Year, several activities were held including prayer vigils, procession and a whole lot more. A concelebrated mass was held on June 27 preceded by Cardinal Tagle. The main altar of Our Mother of Perpetual help adorned by flamboyant decorationsDevotees and Parishioners were welcomed by their decorated gates which seemingly offers a Filipino-inspired approach. The church’s ongoing environmental projects are starting to take shape as well and you can clearly see the huge improvements.(the church’s nave)A Priest Stole with an embroidered image of Our Mother of Perpetual HelpMy mom (who apparently is also a devotee of Our Mother of Perpetual Help) joined me that day!