【慈幼通訊社
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2014
年
05
月
23
日羅馬慈幼總部訊】
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2014年5月24日為教宗庇護七世結束多年監禁(1809-1814)，返回羅馬的200
周年紀念，他先後被拿破崙囚禁在法國的薩沃納及楓丹白露。事實上，他獲釋的一日，正是教會紀念聖母進教之佑的日子，促使庇護七世於1815年9月訂定5月24日為聖母進教之佑瞻禮。
教宗在囚期間的精神面貌，在他抵達薩沃納主教宮殿所作的首個請求中，充分地總結出來，這請求是：能夠每天在聖體前祈禱。教宗每天在聖體前作多個小時的祈禱及朝拜，祈求天主扶助教會，並寬恕迫害他的人。他每晚在那裡，與一些教宗府成員一起誦唸玫瑰經。薩沃納居民跟隨他的榜樣，每天花時間在聖體龕前祈禱，以及為他的意向誦唸玫瑰經。
庇護七世在薩沃納為一座慈悲之母聖像加冕，並訂立進教之佑瞻禮，作為他獲得解救，教會恢復自由的永久性紀念。這顯示進教之佑的稱號，以及這個瞻禮本身，對教宗的牧職，以及教會得以自由履行其使命，有著特別的的關係。
庇護七世於5月24日獲釋，以及他返回羅馬的200周年紀念，有助提醒我們，在準備鮑思高神父誕辰200周年慶典的同時，也要紀念禮儀年曆的聖母進教之佑瞻禮訂立200周年。
藉天主上智的安排，鮑思高神父之名，從訂立這瞻禮日的開始便與瑪利亞進教之佑之名相連一起。如同教宗本篤十六世於2008年到訪薩沃納期間指出，這敬禮「教導我們勇於面對世上唯物主義、相對主義和世俗主義的挑戰，永不與世俗妥協，甘願為忠信於上主及教會作出犧牲。教宗庇護七世所展示的安詳的力量，邀請我們在受考驗時，堅定對上主不移的信任，因為我們知道，即使祂容許教會經歷艱難的時刻，祂永不會棄之不理。這位偉大教宗的經歷，邀請我們時常信賴至聖童貞瑪利亞的轉求及母親的關顧。」
這些歷史事件，在都靈聖母進教之佑大殿受到紀念。在聖殿立面有一浮雕，展示了教宗庇護七世，從拿破崙的囚禁中釋放後，在薩沃納大殿為瑪利亞加冕。聖殿圓頂繪有教宗訂立進教之佑禮儀瞻禮。
Pope Pius VII set free on May 24, 1814
(ANS - RMG –Roma, 23 May 2014) – 24 May 2014 marks the 200thanniversary of the return to Rome of Pope Pius VII, after years of imprisonment (1809-1814), first in Savona and then in Fontainebleau, in France, as a prisoner of Napoleon. The fact that his release took place on the day when the Church remembered Mary Help of Christians prompted Pius VII to establish the liturgical feast on this day, which he did in September 1815.
The Pope’s spirit during the years of imprisonment is well summed up in the first request he made on arrival at the Episcopal palace in Savona: to be able to pray daily before the Blessed Sacrament. The Pope passed many hours every day in prayer and adoration, asking God's help for the Church and forgiveness for his persecutors. Here he recited the rosary every night with some of the papal household. The people of Savona followed his example, spending time in prayer before the tabernacle and reciting the rosary for his intentions.
At Savona Pius VII crowned an image of the Mother of Mercy, and instituted the feast of the Help of Christians as a perpetual memorial of his deliverance and the freedom restored to the Church. This shows how the title and the feast have particular reference to the ministry of the Supreme Pontiff and to the freedom of the Church in its mission.
The Bicentenary of the release of Pope Pius VII and his return to Rome on 24 May help us to prepare for the Bicentenary of the birth of Don Bosco during which we will also remember the bicentenary of the institution of the liturgical feast of Mary Help of Christians.
Providentially the name of Don Bosco is associated with the feast of Mary Help of Christians since its inception. As Pope Benedict XVI pointed out during his visit to Savona in 2008, this devotion "teaches us courage in facing the challenges of the world: materialism, relativism, secularism, without ever yielding to compromise, willing to pay the price in order to remain faithful to the Lord and to his Church. The example of serene strength given by Pope Pius VII invites us to maintain unaltered trust in God during times of trial, knowing that, even though he allows his Church to experience hard times, he never abandons it. The experience of this great Pontiff invites us to trust always in the intercession and maternal care of the Blessed Virgin Mary."
These historical events are remembered in the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians in Turin. On the façade there is a relief representing Pope Pius VII crowning Mary in the Shrine at Savona after his release from his captivity by Napoleon. In the dome the Pope is depicted instituting the liturgical feast of Mary Help of Christians.