To prepare for the Feast of Our Lady of Prompt Succor (January 15), we pray the Our Lady of Prompt Succor Novena from January 6-14. You're invited to submit your prayer requests to be remembered in the nine Masses of the novena and to offer the novena prayers.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor, thou art after Jesus our only hope. O Most Holy Virgin, whose merits have raised thee high above angel choirs to the very throne of the Eternal and whose foot crushed the head of the infernal serpent, thou art strong against the enemies of our salvation.
O Mother of God, thou art our Mediatrix most kind and loving. Hasten, then, to our help, and as thou didst once save thy beloved city from ravaging flames and our country from an alien foe, do now have pity on our misery, and obtain for us the graces we beg of thee.
Deliver us from the wiles of Satan, assist us in the many trials which beset our path in this valley of tears, and be to us truly Our Lady of Prompt Succor now and especially at the hour of our death. Amen.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor, hasten to help us. (3 times)
Devotion to Our Lady of Prompt Succor began under Ursuline nuns in Louisiana. In 1727, Ursuline nuns from France arrived in Louisiana. They soon established a convent and a school called Ursuline Academy.
At Ursuline Academy, which is still a school today, the nuns educated children of Native Americans, slaves, free Creole people, and European colonists.
During the time of the French Revolution, many of the sisters fled to Cuba because they feared the anti-clerical persecution of those who were now in power in France.
But soon, the Louisiana territory became property of the United States. When this happened, the Ursulines sent a letter to Thomas Jefferson to ask if the new government would honor their property rights. The president sent them a letter in reply, assuring them that their rights would be protected by their new government and that the government would not interfere with their affairs.
At this time, the Ursuline convent was struggling to furnish enough teachers to run Ursuline Academy. So Mother Andre Madier wrote to her cousin, Mother Michael Gensoul, in France.
Mother Michael was also running a boarding school for Catholic girls. Mother Michael asked her bishop to approve a transfer of nuns to Louisiana, but her bishop told her that only the pope could give authorization for such a transfer because so many religious had fled France recently.
At the time, Pope Pius VII was imprisoned by Napoleon. Mother Michael knew that it was unlikely that the pope would receive a letter from her. Despite this, she prayed to Mary for help, saying, “O most holy Virgin Mary, if you obtain for me a prompt and favorable answer to this letter, I promise to have you honored at New Orleans under the title of Our Lady of Prompt Succor.”
Mother Michael received a reply from the pope just over a month after sending him her letter. He approved her request to transfer nuns to Louisiana.
Mother Michael then commissioned a statue of Mary holding the Christ Child. The statue showed Mary with flowing robes, and it gave her the appearance of moving quickly.
Mother Michael arrived in Louisiana with the statue of Our Lady of Prompt Succor and some postulants in 1810.
Since then, many miracles have been attributed to Our Lady of Prompt Succor, including the preservation of the Ursuline convent from a nearby fire and the preservation of the convent during the fighting of the Battle of New Orleans in 1815.
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