(ANS – Rome) – Today, Friday 24 May, Solemnity of Mary Help of Christians, the Catholic Church celebrates the World Day of Prayer for China, established by Pope Benedict XVI in 2007.  In China, Mary is honoured with great devotion under the title Helper, in the Shrine at Sheshan near Shanghai.

This day of prayer was referred to by Pope Francis at the end of his general audience on Wednesday 22 May, when he said: “I invite all the Catholics of the world to join in prayer with their brothers and sisters in China, to beg from God the grace to proclaim with humility and joy that Christ has died and is risen, to be faithful to his Church and to the Successor of Peter, and to live their daily lives in the service of their country and fellow citizens in a way that is in keeping with the faith they profess.”

The Pope then recited the prayer to Our Lady of Sheshan, invoking Mary in these words: “Our Lady of Sheshan, sustain all those in China, who, amid their daily trials, continue to believe, to hope, to love. May they never be afraid to speak of Jesus to the world, and of the world to Jesus.” He concluded saying, ”Mary, faithful Virgin, sustain the Catholics of China, make their difficult task more precious in the eyes of the Lord, and may they grow in their love for and participation in the Church in China, which is on one journey with the universal Church.”

The celebration of the Solemnity of Mary Help of Christians in this Year of Faith reminds us again of the trust that Don Bosco had in Mary our Help. He expressed this trust in an extraordinary way in the building of the Basilica in Turin. His confidence was motivated by a profound conviction that fostering devotion to Mary was a valid instrument for growth in faith and the defence of the faith among the young and the Christian people.

With great realism Don Bosco could say: “The experience of eighteen centuries enables us to see in a very clear manner that Mary has continued from heaven and with even greater success, her Mission of Mother of the Church and Help of Christians which she had begun on earth.”

“As the Salesian Family” says Fr Pierluigi Cameroni, Spiritual Animator of the Association of Mary our Helper (ADMA), “we ask Mary Help of Christians to help us to persevere in faith and to be able to bring the love of the Father to those who do not know him, and we pray that the young may be strong in their fight against evil, and able to make definitive choices in life.”

Published 24/05/2013