The Basilica of Our Lady Help of Christians ( it, Basilica di Santa Maria Ausiliatrice) is a church in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

, northern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. Originally part of the home for poor boys founded by

John Bosco John Melchior Bosco ( it, Giovanni Melchiorre Bosco; pms, Gioann Melchior Bòsch; 16 August 181531 January 1888), popularly known as Don Bosco , was an Italian Catholic priest, educator, writer and saint of the 19th century. While working ...

, it now contains the remains of Don Bosco, and 6,000

relics In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...

of other saints.

History

Giovanni Bosco commissioned the construction of the Basilica of Our Lady Help of Christians in order to coordinate all activities related to the Salesians in the

Valdocco Valdocco (Valdòc in Piedmontese) is a neighborhood of the city of Turin, located in the urban district Aurora. It is bordered by Corso Regina Margherita, Via Cigna, the river Dora and the railway. The name Valdocco comes from the Latin ''vallis oc ...

suburb. The church was designed by Antonio Spezia, who drew inspiration from the facade of

San Giorgio Maggiore San Giorgio Maggiore ( vec, San Zorzi Mazor) is one of the islands of Venice, northern Italy, lying east of the Giudecca and south of the main island group. The island, or more specifically its Palladian church, is an important landmark. It h ...

in Venice. It was built in 1865–1868 by Carlo Buzzetti (one of the first boys of the Oratory). The first stone was laid on 27 April 1865, in the presence of Prince Amedeo di Savoia. The church was consecrated in 1868. TargaMargheritaOcchiena

The basilica enshrines an image of the

Blessed Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother ...

under the title

Mary Help of Christians Mary, the Help of Christians ( la, Sancta Maria Auxilium Christianorum) is a Roman Catholic title of the Blessed Virgin Mary, based on a devotion now associated with a feast day of the General Roman Calendar on May 24. John Chrysostom was the ...

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-ol ...

granted a

Canonical coronation A canonical coronation ( la, Coronatio Canonica) is a pious institutional act of the pope, duly expressed in a bull, in which the pope bestows the right to impose an ornamental crown, a diadem or an aureole to an image of Christ, Mary or J ...

to the painted image on 13 February 1903. The actual ceremony was carried out on 17 May 1903 via his Papal legate, Cardinal

Agostino Richelmy Agostino Richelmy (29 November 1850 – 10 August 1923) was an Italian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Turin from 1897 until his death, and was elevated to the rank of cardinal in 1899. Biography Early li ...

. According to legend, a vision of the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

appeared in a dream to

in 1844 or 1845 and revealed the site of the martyrdom of the Turinese saints

Solutor, Adventor and Octavius :''This article concerns Solutor of Turin. Solutor was also the name of a member of the group of martyrs, along with Valentine and Victor, who died at Ravenna around 305 AD.'' Solutor, along with Octavius and Adventor ( it, Solutore, Ottavio, e ...

. The Basilica dell'Ausiliatrice was built on the site of their death.SALESIANI DON BOSCO-SDB/ Casa Madre TORINO-VALDOCCO / Santuario-Basilica Maria Ausiliatrice - 3
/ref> The church houses the relics of these saints. The basilica holds the tombs of saints Don Bosco,

Maria Domenica Mazzarello Maria Mazzarello (May 9, 1837 – May 14, 1881) was the Italian founder of the Salesian Sisters. Life She was born in Mornese, in what is now the province of Alessandria, northern Italy, to a peasant family who worked in a vineyard. She w ...

, and

Dominic Savio Dominic Savio ( it, Domenico Savio; 2 April 1842 – 9 March 1857) was an Italian student of John Bosco. He was studying to be a priest when he became ill and died at the age of 14, possibly from pleurisy. He was noted for his piety and devotio ...

Notes

External links

{{Salesians

Our Lady Help of Christians Mary, the Help of Christians ( la, Sancta Maria Auxilium Christianorum) is a Roman Catholic title of the Blessed Virgin Mary, based on a devotion now associated with a feast day of the General Roman Calendar on May 24. John Chrysostom was the ...

Salesian churches in Italy 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy

History

See also

Notes

External links