The Feast of Mary Help of Christians was instituted by Pope Pius VI. To commemorate his own sufferings and those of the church during his exile Pope Pius VII extended the feast of the Seven Dolours of Mary to the Catholic Church on 18 September 1814. To give thanks to God and Our Lady, on 15 September 1815 he declared 24 May, the anniversary of his first return, to be henceforth the feast of Our Lady, Help of Christians.
The Marian feast has been celebrated by the Order of Servites since the 17th century. The veneration to Mary became popular under this title in Rome especially, where the feast was especially promoted by John Bosco and Vincent Pallotti. Bosco was an ardent promoter of devotion to “Mary, Help of Christians”. He built a huge basilica in her honour in 1868 and founded a religious congregation for women, under the title of, “The Daughters of Mary, Help of Christians”.
The church focuses in this feast on the role of Our Lady’s intercession in the fight against sin in the life of a believer. In addition, it focuses on Our Lady as one who assists Christians as a community, through her intercession, in fighting against anti-Christian forces.
