The Redemptorists have been devoted to Mary, the Mother of God, since the first days of their Congregation. Their founder, St. Alphonsus Liguori, was a great lover and preacher of Marian devotion. St Alphonsus’ book, The Glories of Mary, is one of the classic texts of Marian theology. He encouraged his brothers to speak of Mary in all their missionary endeavors and to encourage people to encounter her as a mother rich in mercy and powerful as an intercessor.
Redemptorist preaching and devotion to Mary took a new turn in 1865 when Pope Pius IX entrusted the ancient icon of Our Mother of Perpetual Help to the Redemptorists and encouraged them to make her known. Since 1866 the original icon has hung in the mother Church of the Redemptorists, San Alfonso, in Rome, while Redemptorists have carried copies of Mary’s image all around the world.
Redemptorists are formed under the watchful, loving gaze of our Mother and drawn by her into a deeper relationship with the Son whom she holds out to the world. She is their companion in mission and shows them the way of true discipleship, following her son through the cross to the glory of resurrected life.
For more information
To learn more about the icon of Our Mother of Perpetual Help, view the following series of videos by Brother Dan Korn, C.Ss.R., or read his book Embracing the Icon of Love.
For a copy of the Novena Prayers to Our Mother of Perpetual Help by the Redemptorists’ North American Spirituality Commission, check out: Hear Me as I Pray, from Liguori Publications.
You can learn more about Our Mother of Perpetual Help at http://www.maryprayforus.org or on the website of the Baltimore Province.