OUR LADY OF SUCCOUR

Day 189: November 17

Our Lady of Succor, St Peter's Basilica, Vatican, Rome, Italy



It was first venerated and placed in the chapel of the ancient tomb of Pope Leo I known as the Great (390-461) in the Constantinian Basilica. The body of Pope Leo the Great was transferred there in 688 by Pope Sergius.

Pope Gregory XIII, elected in 1572, built, according to Michelangelo's idea, the Gregorian Chapel, with dome and vault, with mosaics, gilded stuccoes and precious marbles. Pope Gregory XIII, completing the first chapel open for worship in the new Vatican Basilica, inaugurated it on February 12, 1578, the first Sunday of Lent, placing the image of the "Madonna del Soccorso" (Our Lady of Succor) already venerated in the primitive Vatican Basilica.

The same pontiff wished to enrich the greatest temple of Christianity with relics of illustrious saints of the Church. He asked the nuns of Santa Maria in Campo Marzio to be able to transport the precious bones of St Gregory of Nazianzus, for whom he had a deep devotion and admiration. St Gregory of Nazianzus is a Doctor of the Church for the Latins and called "the Theologian" by the Easterners. 

The solemn transfer took place on June 11, 1580 and the master of ceremonies Francesco Mucanzio handed down a detailed description of that memorable ceremony. St Gregory of Nazianzus was thus the first saint to be officially deposed and venerated in the new Vatican Basilica, next to the Apostle Peter.

The venerated relics, placed inside an ancient copper casket, closed with the seals of Pope Gregory XIII and placed, in turn, inside a wooden box covered with a precious fabric, were then hidden at the bottom of the masonry of the altar of the Gregorian chapel, where they are still kept today.

From that day on, unfortunately, the surface layers have gradually become covered with dust and smoke, so much so that the features have to be reinforced several times. Although they have been marked with extreme respect and attention, the repeated pictorial interventions have altered their appearance over time, making their restoration extremely urgent and necessary.

In the year 2013, a new renovation offered by the Order of the Knights of Columbus was submitted to the painting of Our Lady of Succor and was dedicated to Pope Francis. Carried out in the Year of Faith (2012 – 2013), it was the first restoration under the pontificate of the Holy Father Francis.

After the restoration, the image of the Virgin also has on the golden edge of the tunic that turns on the chest a sort of decorated oval brooch, reproduced today, but which in ancient times was set in a small hollow found in the painting itself. The ornament is in continuity not only stylistically, but above all devotionally as a votive gift to the Virgin.

For this reason, the following words have been engraved: SVCCVRRE NOS (Succorrici) and under FRANCISCVS PP. A. I (Pope Francis, First Year). Having recently been elected, on March 13, 2013, it was decided in this way to entrust the new Pope and his Petrine ministry to the Virgin "of Help", who thus bears the name of Pope Francis on her heart.

The liturgical memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary "of Succor" is celebrated on May 24.


St Justin Russolillo Writes...

"Glory to the Most Blessed Trinity in you, O Mary! Glory to you, O Mary, in the Blessed Trinity for your encounter with Jesus on the way to Calvary, for your presence at the crucifixion of Jesus, for your support during the agony of Jesus, for the Final Bequest of Jesus to you, for the death of Jesus, for his removal from the Cross, for the burial of Jesus, for your expectation of the resurrection, for the apparition of the Risen Jesus to you, for your life with the Risen Jesus."

(Ascension, trans. Louis Caputo, Vocationist Fathers, New Jersey, 1997, pp. 399-400)

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