Our Lady of Good Help

Marian Advocation of Montreal (Quebec)
Recognized by the Church

La advocación de Our Lady of Good Help (Not--Dame-de-Bon-Secours) is linked to the Catholic origins of Montreal in the 17th century, within the current Quebec, Canada. According to Marian outreach studies, the devotion to "Good Relief" was implanted very soon in the young city and was especially linked to the spiritual life of the settlers and the sailors of the San Lorenzo. This church is considered one of the oldest in Montreal and has been associated with the historical development of the city and its port.

Main data

Origin and history

La advocación de Our Lady of Good Help (Not--Dame-de-Bon-Secours) is linked to the Catholic origins of Montreal in the 17th century, within the current Quebec, Canada. According to Marian outreach studies, the devotion to "Good Relief" was implanted very soon in the young city and was especially linked to the spiritual life of the settlers and the sailors of the San Lorenzo. This church is considered one of the oldest in Montreal and has been associated with the historical development of the city and its port.

En la documented history, the chapel of Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours is closely linked to santa Marguerite Bourgeoys (1620-1700), founder of the Congregation of Notre- Dame. Several historical synthesis points out that she promoted the construction of a Marian chapel outside the walls, dedicated to the Virgin under the title Bon Secours, which over time became a reference place for the population and for the sailors. For its antiquity and continuity of veneration, the chapel of Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours is today one of the most emblematic historical churches in Montreal.

In the plan of the tradition, if there is consolidated the appeal of "Sailor chapel", highlighting Our Lady of Good Relief as a protector of those who were on the San Lorenzo River and the great lakes, especially in times of dangerous traverses and intense river traffic. Part of this tradition is the custom of offering exvotes in the form of boat models, as recognition for aid attributed to the intercession of the Virgin in shipwrecks or storms. These elements form a well-established devotional imagination, although the specific circumstances of many favors belong more to the field of popular piety than to historically verifiable stories.

Location note: the invocation described here corresponds to Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours in Montreal (Quebec, Canada). There is no canonically established advocation of "Our Lady of Good Relief" in a place called "Montreal" within the department of Quebec in Colombia; therefore, the correct geographical reference is Montreal (Quebec, Canada).

The image and the sanctuary

Devotion focuses on a imagen mariana de tipo tradicional, venerada en la Capilla de Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secoursin the historical sector of Montreal. The sources of dissemination indicate that it is a representation of the Virgin Mary under the title of Good Relief / Bon Secours, invoked as a helper and protector of the faithful, especially of the navigators. There is no detailed and verifiable technical description of the material (wood, plaster, stone, etc.) or a detailed iconography (exact position of the Child, attributes in the hands, etc.) in the sources consulted; it should therefore be strictly stated that do not contain accurate documented data on the size type and its iconographic details in the revised sources.

El sanctuary is officially known as Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours Chapel (Chapel of Our Lady of Good Help). The historical descriptions highlight that it is one of the oldest churches in Montreal, raised in the Old Montreal, and which has been a place of reference both religious and cultural, today also integrated in a museum environment about the origins of the city. In the light of accessible general documentation, no consta that the chapel has the title of minor basilica ni de National sanctuary; it is a historic church with strong local and diocesan significance, linked to the memory of Saint Marguerite Bourgeoys and the world of sailors.

Sponsorship and coronation

En el ámbito del patronazgo, local tradition presents Our Lady of Good Help as protection of sailors and travellersespecially those linked to the port of Montreal and to river navigation. This dimension is particularly expressed in the of ships which hang inside the chapel, a sign of the thanks of sailors and families for the relief received. At the canonical level, there is no formal proclamation of the Virgin of Bon Secours as an official patron of the city of Montreal or of the diocese in the sources consulted; it can be said with certainty that it enjoys a devotional patronage deeply rooted on local sailors and sailors.

As for a canonical coronation, in the verified sources (recent Marian synthesis and dissemination materials on the chapel) no reference to a documented canonical coronation of the image of Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours in Montreal, neither the name of a pontiff or delegate for such an act is mentioned. Therefore, following the criterion of historical rigour: does not contain a documented canonical coronation.

Party and devotion

Various devotions under the title "Good Help" elsewhere celebrate the Marian feast September 8, coinciding with the Nativity of the Virgin. However, specifically dealing with the chapel of Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours in Montreal, the revised sources do not offer unambiguously a Fecha liturgica propia universally established for this advocation at diocesan level. It should therefore be stated for the specific reality of Montreal that is not with documentary certainty a specific main holiday date, beyond the general celebration of Marian parties and the memory of Saint Marguerite Bourgeoys associated with the place.

La devotion is expressed in particular by:

– La visit to the sanctuary como lugar de oración y peregrinación local, tanto de fieles de Montreal como de peregrinos que desean conocer los orígenes católicos de la ciudad. – La presencia de numerosos of ships suspendidos en la iglesia, que manifiestan una devoción agradecida de marineros y familias, transmitida de generación en generación. – La integración de la capilla en itinerarios espirituales e históricos, que permiten unir la memoria de los comienzos de Montreal, la obra de santa Marguerite Bourgeoys y la protección mariana sobre la ciudad y sus navegantes.

There are no reliable and documented figures on the Annual flow of pilgrims, so they should be considered no verifiable quantitative data.

Link to the Rosary

The revised sources on Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours in Montreal do not provide specific data on a particular and documented relationship with the prayer of the Rosary (for example, historical co-fradies of the Rosary explicitly linked to this sanctuary, own indulgences or a feast of the Rosary directly linked to the advocation). It should therefore be stated with historical rigour that does not contain a specific documentary link with the Rosary beyond the ordinary practice of Marian piety.

However, from Marian theology and spirituality, the Rosary It naturally fits in devotion to Our Lady of Good Help. This title highlights Mary as and relief in spiritual and material needs; the prayer of the Rosary, by contemplating the mysteries of the life of Christ in the hand of Mary, helps the faithful to put under his protection in the midst of the "traversies" and storms of lifethe same way that the sailors from Montreal came to their intercession before taking a trip. In this way, although there is no specific rosarian tradition documented, the Rosary is presented as privileged prayer to live today the devotion to Our Lady of Good Help, uniting the memory of the former navigators to the needs and challenges of the contemporary faithful.