Marian devotees celebrate Monday, June 27, the feast of Our Mother of Perpetual Help ("Ina ng Laging Saklolo").
A fiesta mass will be offered at 8 a.m. at the Shrine of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, also known as the Baclaran Church or Redemptorist Church, in Baclaran, Paranaque City, in solemn commemoration of the feast. Novena masses were held from June 18 to 26.
Last June 23, the shrine launched the year-long preparation and countdown to the 75th year of the novena to Our Mother of Perpetual Help that began on June 23, 1946.
Devotees traditionally light candles, pray the Holy Rosary, recite novena prayers, sing hymns, offer flowers in thanksgiving for answered prayers, ask for the Blessed Mother’s powerful intercession, or simply, pay homage to Our Lady under the special title of Mother of Perpetual Help. Some even walk on their knees from the church door to the altar to ask for special favors.
Devotees who are unable to visit the shrine personally may also send their prayer requests and thanksgiving online.
Church officials encourage the faithful to pray and reflect on the “Memorare,” a special prayer of devotion and confidence in the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Known as one of the most visited Catholic churches in the country, the Baclaran Church receives hundreds of devotees particularly every Wednesday when traffic in the area is particularly heavy. The novena masses are an old tradition rooted from the Wednesday public novena established by the Redemptorist fathers in 1948.