The following information has been taken from the Perpetual Help Novena Booklet

Its Meaning

The picture represents the Boy Jesus in His mother's arms. He is gazing fixedly at the vision of two archangels bearing the instruments of His Passion. His right foot kicks off the sandal, signifying His acceptance of the saving acts that He will perform for man's redemption. This was the Jewish gesture of a contract accepted(Cf. Ruth. Ch. 4. v. 7). He clings to His mother's hand as if seeking refuge and help. She is His perpetual help. Her look, which is directed towards the one who looks at the picture, is searching. It records her total resignation to what she knows her Son must do to fulfill His Father's Will.

A Short History

"The original picture, entitled Our Lady of Perpetual Help stands enthroned over the High Altar of the Redemptorist Church of ST. Alphonsus in Rome. The picture was brought from Crete to Italy in the 15th Century. It is an oriental art form called an Icon. This art form is common in both Catholic and Orthodox oriental churches.

The story of the picture has been carefully and, as far as possible, scientifically investigated. According to the narrative, it was Our Lady herself who gave the title to the picture. She also commanded that the picture be erected in a church that lay between the two great Roman Cathedrals of St. John Lateran, and St. Mary Major.

For 300 years it was a centre of Roman devotion. At the end of the 18th Century, during the assault on Rome by Napoleon's armies, the church was destroyed and the picture disappeared.

In the early part of the 19th Century, the Redemptorists came to Rome, seeking a site for a monastery and church. They acquired the site where the church that housed the picture had stood. There they erected a church in honour of their founder St. Alphonsus. After a long search, the lost picture was found. On the orders of Pope Pius IX it was restored to the Church of Alphonsus. In 1866 it was solemnly erected. The Pope told the Redemptorists: "Make her known throughout the world".