Saint John Bosco's Mary, The Help of Christians

I hopped on a bus guided by a map and the will to find the ‘home’ of all Bosconians in the world. This wasn’t just a pilgrimage; this was a homecoming, too. Traveling around this city whose transport system I barely knew and whose language I barely spoke, except for asking directions and ordering pizza margherita, didn’t bring me fear or worry. I always felt safe like ‘someone’ was always watching over me and I always knew that human kindness would be there whenever and wherever I needed it.

After hopping off the bus, I recalibrated my directions and walked for 800 meters to the west until I found the piazza named after her. And when I looked up at the basilica right behind the open space, I was welcomed by a sight I would never forget. I froze for a moment, gazing up and mesmerized by the apparition, oblivious to the noisy traffic of cars and buses on the busy Corso Regina Margherita. The lady whose golden statue stands on top of a dome is identified by the words etched in also in gold across the basilica’s chest: MARIA AUXILIUM CHRISTIANORUM ORA PRO NOBIS.  Even in Latin, the words felt close to this Bosconian’s heart, the English translation of which always ended our prayers when I was still studying at Don Bosco in Victorias: “MARY, HELP OF CHRISTIANS, PRAY FOR US.”

This is the Basilica di Santa Maria Ausiliatrice in Turin in northern Italy, the church that the Virgin Mary herself asked Saint John Bosco to build in her honor.  The church was built in 1863 and was completed five years later, and on June 9, 1868, it was consecrated.  Also known in English as the ‘Basilica of Mary, Help of Christians’, this holy place was the request of the Virgin Mary herself from Saint John Bosco when she appeared in his dream. And this site where the basilica now stands was not just a random place picked by her; this was the spot where three martyrs from Turin, namely, Octavius, Adventor and Solutor, sacrificed their lives for the faith. The statues of these martyrs, who are the patron saints of Turin, also stand on the roof on a level below the Virgin.

During ordinary days, the Basilica’s main door remained closed and I had to enter through the right side where, on its wall, was a copy of the Shroud of Turin.  But I was most interested in the most beautiful feature of the Basilica, a huge painting that is familiar to all Bosconians: the image of ‘Mary, Help of Christians’. The magnificent work of art that dominates the altar was painted by an Italian artist, Tommáso Lorenzone, as commissioned by Don Bosco himself. This image is everywhere in Salesian schools. It is seen on the school walls, on chapels, and even on estampitas.

The image of the Virgin, standing in glory and majesty and surrounded by angels paying homage to their queen while holding a scepter that represents power on her right hand and on her left, the Child Jesus with open arms as if offering love and mercy to whoever needs it, was painted based on Don Bosco’s detailed instructions.

The painting also includes the Evangelists and Apostles venerating the Virgin and the Child Jesus as they take their place as pillars in the spreading of Christ’s teachings. At the bottom of the painting is the Basilica (which I thought was the Vatican when I was a student) in the area of Valdocco in Turin and the Superga Hill in the background. It would have been helpful had our Bosconian priests explained this image to us when I was still a student. But it didn’t matter now as seeing it up close while I sat on a pew and whispering a prayer of thanksgiving, I realized this painting is more than just a work of art. It is a message of motherly love and grace for all God’s children.

Lorenzone took three years to finish the work and later admitted that when he painted the Virgin’s face, the most important part of the painting, he felt as if someone was guiding his brush, creating the beautiful expression on Mary’s face that must have touched everyone who has seen it over the years. The painting was granted a canonical coronation by Pope Leo XIII on May 17, 1903, conferring on it the title of “Mary, Help of Christians.”

During the day, Our Lady is seen standing on top of her Basilica welcoming everyone into her care and grace. At night, when the Basilica is bathed in light, she stands quietly in the dark and looks after the city and everyone else who asks for her help and intercession by calling upon her, “Mary, help of Christians, pray for us.”