(ANS – Rome) - 24 May 2014 marks the 200th anniversary of the return to Rome of Pope Pius VII, after years of imprisonment (1809-1814), first in Savona and then in Fontainebleau, in France, as a prisoner of Napoleon. The fact that his release took place on the day when the Church remembered Mary Help of Christians prompted Pius VII to establish the liturgical feast on this day, which he did in September 1815.
The Pope’s spirit during the years of imprisonment is well summed up in the first request he made on arrival at the Episcopal palace in Savona: to be able to pray daily before the Blessed Sacrament. The Pope passed many hours every day in prayer and adoration, asking God's help for the Church and forgiveness for his persecutors. Here he recited the rosary every night with some of the papal household. The people of Savona followed his example, spending time in prayer before the tabernacle and reciting the rosary for his intentions.
At Savona Pius VII crowned an image of the Mother of Mercy, and instituted the feast of the Help of Christians as a perpetual memorial of his deliverance and the freedom restored to the Church. This shows how the title and the feast have particular reference to the ministry of the Supreme Pontiff and to the freedom of the Church in its mission.
The Bicentenary of the release of Pope Pius VII and his return to Rome on 24 May help us to prepare for the Bicentenary of the birth of Don Bosco during which we will also remember the bicentenary of the institution of the liturgical feast of Mary Help of Christians.
Providentially the name of Don Bosco is associated with the feast of Mary Help of Christians since its inception. As Pope Benedict XVI pointed out during his visit to Savona in 2008, this devotion "teaches us courage in facing the challenges of the world: materialism, relativism, secularism, without ever yielding to compromise, willing to pay the price in order to remain faithful to the Lord and to his Church. The example of serene strength given by Pope Pius VII invites us to maintain unaltered trust in God during times of trial, knowing that, even though he allows his Church to experience hard times, he never abandons it. The experience of this great Pontiff invites us to trust always in the intercession and maternal care of the Blessed Virgin Mary."
These historical events are remembered in the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians in Turin. On the façade there is a relief representing Pope Pius VII crowning Mary in the Shrine at Savona after his release from his captivity by Napoleon. In the dome the Pope is depicted instituting the liturgical feast of Mary Help of Christians.
Published 23/05/2014
