This Saturday, the Don Bosco Oratory in Victoria will honor the Feast of Mary Help of Christians, a much loved event in the Salesian custom. Though officially commemorated as a festival by Pope Pius VII in 1814, in thankfulness for his release from incarceration under Napoleon, the title “Help of Christians” predates the modern Church era—usually associated with Pope Pius V and the triumph at Lepanto. However much devotion Saint John Bosco popularised in the 19th century, so much so that Mary under this name became lovingly known as “Don Bosco’s Madonna,” she was less well known before then.
Built in Turin by the Salesian founder, her likeness has become front and center in every Salesian facility and school across the globe. Victoria’s Don Bosco Oratory carries on this tradition with monthly celebrations on the 24th leading up to the yearly feast on May 24.
Observance this year will start with a 9 a.m. mass on Friday for students of the Laura Vicuna School. Fr. Effie Masini, the Oratory’s director, will hold a solemn mass at 7 p.m. in the evening, then a youth prayer meeting follows.
Fr Simon Cachia, Fontana’s parish priest, will head Saturday’s primary liturgical celebration at 7 p.m.; Chorus Urbanus will provide musical support. A little procession with the statue of Our Lady will follow through the nearby streets. Organised by the Eucharistic Movement, the evening will end with adoration of the Blessed Sacrament starting with mass at 8:30pm and a culminating liturgy at midnight.
Beyond honoring Mary under a name so important to the Salesian mission, this yearly celebration serves as a reminder of Don Bosco’s continuing influence on youth and the Church.
