Mary, Help of Christians

Mary, Help of Christians (Latin: Sancta Maria Auxilium Christianorum) is a 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. John Chrysostom was the first to describe this title, in 345 AD. Don Bosco also propagated the devotion. It is associated with the defense of Christian Europe, North Africa and the Middle East from non-Christians during the Middle Ages.

As the Ottoman Empire intended to invade Christian Europe in 1571, Pope Pius V called on Christian armies for help and their victory was consequently attributed to the intercession of Mary under this devotional title. Pope Leo XIII granted a decree of canonical coronation for a Turin image of the devotion in 1903. The coronation was executed by Cardinal Agostino Richelmy and the image is now permanently enshrined at the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians.

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