The Great Novena
In 1908, as the first year of the Redemptorist foundation and establishment in San Sebastian approached, the missionaries thought of a way to thank the Blessed Mother for the favours received.
They thought of the novena celebrated everywhere and concluded with a feast on June 27th, the feast of Our Mother of Perpetual Help. During the nine days of the novena, a regular group of people identified with the missionary spirit of those French fathers attended. The feast on 27 June turned out to be a simple one, with a small procession around the block of St Sebastian.
The following year, in 1909, the attendance was much larger, and year after year, the number of devotees and members of the Archconfraternity of Our Mother of Perpetual Help has been growing. Since then, the novena has become an event for the whole city and its surroundings, an explosion of popular faith. The novena is preached up to eight times a day, and the faithful fill the church each time. The themes preached in the novena are a living catechesis.
Significant themes for Christian life and the apostolate are taken up, for example, marriage, the family, the priesthood, violence, reconciliation, the sacraments, faith, and the life of Mary, with a common thread in the minds of the preachers, so that their listeners live in a state of grace and foster their devotion to Mary’s Perpetual Help, not being afraid to invoke her in the most difficult moments.
Nowadays the novena is celebrated between the last week of June and the first week of July. It is truly impressive to see a whole village pouring into the Shrine, before the loving gaze of the Mother, a mother who welcomes all her children, without distinction, from all social classes; a mother who is always attentive to their lives, in times of adversity, always ready to help us.
To observe the tower of the Shrine, to see the Peruvian and Vatican flags flying, to hear the sound of the bells and the great missionary work of the Redemptorists, attract all hearts desperate to belong to Christ, who seek relief for the soul in Him and remind us of this time of drawing near through His Mother, whom we venerate on this great feast.
Pilgrimages
For 20 years, the Knights of Our Mother of Perpetual Help, the successors of the members of the Circle of Jesus the Worker, have received one of the many images of Our Mother of Perpetual Help that have arrived in Peru. All of them were distributed in the mission areas, but one remained in the Sanctuary, ornamenting the gardens of the community house. It was a sculpture which some benefactors, students of Fine Arts, gave colour to and, year after year, this image travels through the human settlements (El Barrio Sur, the cradle of the Devotion because of its proximity to the Shrine), schools, parishes, chapels, hospitals, of the city of Piura preparing the hearts for the novena and praying the perpetual supplication.
The Procession
The novena ends with the festive Mass, which the people of Piura very well attend. In the afternoon of the same day, the procession of the venerated image of the Mother of Perpetual Help takes place. A carving from Spain, made by the artist Enrique Murillo, has stolen the hearts of the people of Piura because of its beautiful eyes and the characteristic features of the women mothers of the region; a large number of the faithful with joyful hearts await the departure of the processional carriage of the Mother of the Beautiful Eyes and accompany her on the route through the main streets of Piura. On her return to her Shrine, she is received in the Plazuela Hermanos Meléndez (frontis of the Shrine) amidst a sea of white handkerchiefs, which flutter to the rhythm of the marinera, typical of the region. Fireworks detonate, illuminating the city sky, after which they bid farewell to her, receiving the blessing with the Blessed Sacrament.
In most years, the carriage is inspired by the novena theme. We have seen the Mother with the world at her feet, the Peruvian wonder Machu Picchu, in a boat, accompanied by the Christ of Corcovado in Brazil and so on, with various motifs that show the creativity to embellish the carriage of the Virgin.
Monthly commemoration
On the 27th of every month, the Sanctuary commemorates the Virgin of Perpetual Help in a very special way on her feast day. Her image presides over an altar appropriately decorated for the occasion, and she receives visits from schools, institutions, and all the parishioners who come to Mary’s Help. A special liturgy is prepared on that day to instruct all Christians in the search for a coherent life, following the example of the Blessed Mother.
Arrival of the Pilgrim Icon in Piura
On the occasion of the Jubilee of the 150th anniversary of the Presentation of the Icon of Our Mother of Perpetual Help to the Redemptorists, from the hands of H.H. Pius IX, Pope Francis blessed and sent on pilgrimage to the five continents, authentic copies of the Holy Original which is kept in the Church of St. Alphonsus in Rome. One of them ended its journey in Peru after visiting the various Redemptorist communities in Latin America and the Caribbean. It arrived at the Peru-Ecuador border in December 2017, heading towards Piura, where it remained for 15 days. After that, it completed its tour of the Vice-Provinces of Peru North and Peru South. After being restored due to some damage caused by the intense journey, the General Government assigned the custody of the Pilgrim Icon to the Redemptorist Community of Piura. Within the framework of the Novena of 2018, the 110th anniversary of the first novena in honour of Our Mother of Perpetual Help, this icon was enthroned for veneration by the Metropolitan Archbishop of Piura.
Gonzalo Jesús García Ruiz,
Professor of History, graduate of the University of Piura.
