By Michael McKenna, Director, Office of Liturgy. Diocese of Hobart

The feast day to Mary Help of Christians has been celebrated in Australia since 1844. In 1847 a plenary indulgence was granted to those who receive Holy Communion, under the usual conditions, on May 24 each year. As Help of Christians Mary personifies the Australian identity and character, stepping in to assist the underdog or struggler.

When the Archbishop of Sydney Patrick Cardinal Moran wrote his History of the Catholic Church in Australia, he recalled the laying of the foundation stone of what was to become the first cathedral in this land observing: “Who was the patron selected by the people and their newly arrived pastor, Father Therry, for the Mother Church? Mary, the Immaculate Mother of God, under the special invocation of Help of Christians”. So what might we speculate motivated the faithful and Fr Therry in their choice?

Certainly, in choosing Mary, the fledging Church was following a sure Catholic instinct but it was perhaps also influenced by events unfolding in Europe. In 1809, Napoleon’s men entered the Vatican, arrested Pius VII and brought him in chains to Grenoble, and later Fontainbleau. His imprisonment lasted five years. Pius vowed to God that should he be restored to the Roman See he would institute a special feast in honour of the Blessed Virgin. The military eventually forced Bonaparte to release the Pope and on 24 May 1814, Pius VII returned in triumph to Rome. Twelve months later, the Pope decreed that the feast of Mary Help of Christians, be kept on the 24th of May.

Perhaps the fledgling church in Australia, having no priests until 1820, and trusting itself entirely to Mary’s intercession found in this dramatic episode a sympathetic chord. Indeed, it was largely the Rosary that kept the faith alive in a time where in the absence of priests there was no recourse to the Sacraments. Australia became the first nation in the world to have, Mary, Help of Christians as Patroness: the first church to celebrate May 24th on a national scale (as the feast was restricted to Rome and specified places); and the first country to have a mother-cathedral under the same title.

On this feast the Church has traditionally focussed on two aspects of Mary’s help. Firstly, her role as intercessor in the fight against sin and, secondly, her often communicated and evidenced desire to intercede for persecuted Christian communities. Australian Catholics live in a very fragile modern world, hostile to its Christian foundations and increasingly ignorant of the evils of sin. We are as ever in need of help so let us cling to our Blessed Mother and Patroness for her support and powerful intercession.

We invite you to say the Hail Mary on this special day.