Delegates from different countries attend the first day on April 24 of the international pilgrimage-congress in Manila to mark the 150th jubilee of the icon of "Our Mother of Perpetual Help." (Photo by Vincent Go)
The Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer is hosting an international pilgrimage-congress in Manila this week to mark the 150th jubilee of the icon of "Our Mother of Perpetual Help."
The congregation, known as the Redemptorists, has been the caretaker of the Byzantine icon of the Virgin Mary with the Child Jesus since 1866 when it was entrusted to them by Pope Pius IX.
A four-day series of discussions highlights the international gathering, which carries the theme "Icon of Compassion: Our Mother of Perpetual Help in the 21st Century."
"The international congress is a golden opportunity to renew the mandate given by Pope Piux IX more than 150 years ago," read a statement released by the congregation.
"The call of the jubilee for us is how to [re]make her known in the realities of the 21st century. The greater appreciation of icon spirituality can help us to respond to this call," added the statement.
The Redemptorists noted that the "continuous challenge of the jubilee is a fresh dynamism in mission and evangelization."
St. Alphonsus Liguori founded the congregation in Scala, Italy, in 1732 to preach the Gospel to the poor and most abandoned, especially the economically poor.