Description

Our Lady is our mother, entrusted to us by her beloved son, Our Lord Jesus, at His crucifixion. She stood at the foot of the cross on Calvary and offered Her suffering in union with His for the redemption of mankind.

The original image of Our Lady of Perpetual Help is an icon, painted on wood, and seems to have originated around the thirteenth century.  Traditionally, the image is also known as “Our Lady of Perpetual Succour.”  The icon (about 54 x 41.5 centimeters) depicts our Blessed Mother Mary, under the title “Mother of God,” holding the Child Jesus.  The Archangels Michael and Gabriel, hovering in the upper corners, hold the instruments of the Passion– St. Michael (in the left corner) holds the spear, the wine-soaked sponge, and the crown of thorns, and St. Gabriel (in the right corner) holds the cross and the nails.  The intent of the artist was to portray the Child Jesus contemplating the vision of His future Passion.  The anguish He feels is shown by the loss of one of His sandals.  Nevertheless, the icon also conveys the triumph of Christ over sin and death, symbolized by the golden background (a sign of the glory of the resurrection) and the manner in which the angels hold the instruments, i.e. like trophies gathered up from Calvary on Easter morning.

According to popular tradition, a merchant acquired the icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help from the island of Crete and had it shipped to Rome towards the end of the fifteenth century.  During the voyage, a terrible storm arose, threatening the lives of all on ship.  The passengers and crew prayed to our Blessed Mother, and were saved. The icon has been in Rome since 1499, and is permanently enshrined in the church of Sant’Alfonso di Liguori,  where the official Novena to Our Mother of Perpetual Help is prayed weekly.

This lovely Plaque brings to mind this ancient devotion and enables us to have Our Mother of Perpetual Help close at hand.

size of stained glass plaque of Our Lady of Perpetual Help 26.5cm by 17.5cm fully opened