History is full of examples of petitions to Our Mother the Virgin Mary, answered with effective protection of her children. The title of the Virgin Mary as Help of Christians is more than four centuries old. It is also one of the litanies that are prayed at the end of the Rosario.
Christians at Lepanto
In 1571 Pope Pius V asked all Christians to pray, specifically, the Holy Rosary. He proposed that they invoke Our Lady under the title Auxilio de los Cristianos (Help of Christians). The objective was that the Christian army, led by John of Austria, would win in the battle that was to take place against the Turks in the Mediterranean Sea. Constantinople had been in the hands of the Turks since 1453. In this way they dominated the Mediterranean and threatened the conquest of Rome.
Despite the numerical superiority of the enemy, the Christian fleet defeated the Turks at Lepanto on October 7, 1571. The following year Pius V instituted a feast in honor of the Blessed Virgin, on the same day, annually, with the name of Our Lady of the Rosary.
Ottomans and Bonaparte
A little more than a century later, in 1683, when Vienna was besieged by the Ottoman Turks, Pope Innocent XI also asked that the Rosary be prayed, again under the title Help of Christians. The battle began on September 8, the day on which we celebrate the Nativity of the Virgin Mary. Four days later, on the feast of the Sweet Name of Mary, the battle ended happily with a new victory for Christianity.
In 1804 Napoleon Bonaparte, proclaimed emperor of France, began to persecute the Church. Pope Pius VII excommunicated him. However, in 1809, Napoleon stormed the Vatican, arrested the Pope and transferred him in chains to Fontainebleau. There he held him prisoner for five years. The Pope tried to communicate to the whole Church to pray to Our Lady, Help of Christians, for his release.
Once again, with the help of the Rosary, the Pope's wishes were granted. On May 24, 1814 Napoleon abdicated. That same day the Pope was able to return to Rome. In his first official act he proclaimed the feast of Mary, Help of Christians. Since then, every May 24, we celebrate Mary Help of Christians with gratitude.
