Our Lady Help of Christians, Patroness of Australia
Many centuries ago, Pope Pius V, gave the title Help of Christians to Our Lady
after a European fleet in an immense battle defeated the Turkish fleet at Lepanto in
1571. The Turks were pressing on many points to conquer Europe. There were
heroic deeds of the knights and people defending Malta in the siege in 1565.
The Australian bishops chose this title Mary Help of Christians in 1844 at their
first official meeting together, because two successive popes, Pius VI Pius VII, had
been imprisoned by the French leader Napoleon some 30 or 40 years before, and
the Catholic people prayed to Our Lady Help of Christians to protect them.
Our Lady Help of Christians is also the Patroness of the Diocese of Broome. St.
Mary’s school was originally called Mary Help of Christians. Around 1994 St.
Mary’s school began to celebrate the Feastday on the Visitation of the Blessed
Virgin Mary - 31st May. Last year Bishop Christopher expressed the desire to
return to the original Feastday date of May 24th – Our Lady Help of Christians.
The title of the feast gives us an answer. Mary is "help of Christians". She it is who
gave to the world her son, Jesus, who would be its saviour. And she has never
ceased to have that same relationship with her brothers and sisters. Through Mary
we are helped to receive Jesus into our lives as she herself did when she responded
with a complete openness to the gift from God of her son.
When we call Mary, "Help of Christians", we not only remember her giving Christ
to the world and to us, we also remember how she was a disciple like ourselves
and, through the communion we have with her in Christ, she is walking with us
still on our own journey of discipleship.