Houston Redemptorists host traveling Perpetual Help icon
December 27, 2016
An icon of Our Mother of Perpetual Help, similar to this mosaic, will visit Holy Ghost Catholic Church Jan. 1 to Jan. 15, with a special enthronment ceremony on Jan. 2 and prayer service on Jan. 11 at 7 p.m. Photo courtesy of Andreas F. Borchert.
HOUSTON — A century and a half after Blessed Pope Pius XI presented the Icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help to the Redemptorists for veneration in their Rome church, a special icon will travel to Houston in honor of the 150th anniversary of the Holy Father’s mandate to promote her devotion through out the world.
Holy Ghost Catholic Church, located at 6921 Chetwood Dr. in Houston, will host an icon of Our Mother of Perpetual Help from Jan. 1 to Jan. 15, according to Father William “Bill” Bueche, C.Ss.R., pastor of Holy Ghost.
This traveling icon, which will visit 16 cities in the U.S., was a special commission of the Redemptorist Denver Province written by brother Redemptorists in Poland, he said. The icon was touched to the original icon in Rome, and will be available for veneration during regular church hours.
On Jan. 2, an enthronment ceremony will officially welcome Our Lady to Houston. Then on Jan. 11 at 7 p.m. a special prayer service will feature the icon and include multimedia presentations highlighting the devotions to Our Lady from around the world.
Father Bueche encourages all faithful to attend and pray with the icon, and extends a special invitation to the Filipino Catholic community, a culture which is known for an sincere devotion to Our Lady of Perpetual Help.
“No other image offers us more possibility of meditation on the heart of the Gospel message than the icon of Our Mother of Perpetual Help,” according to The Redemptorists of the Denver Province website, www.redemptoristsdenver.org. “This icon is truly the Gospel in image form. When we look at the icon we are invited to read what is contained in the image. This reading of the icon can lead us into an experience of Mary that depends our devotion to her.”
For more information on the Redemptorists and the icon, visit www.redemptoristsdenver.org. For church hours, call 713-668-8463.