A copy of the original icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help visits Galway Cathedral on Tuesday 19 April 2016, as part of a nationwide pilgrimage marking the 150th anniversary of the presentation of the icon to the Redemptorist order by Pope Pius IX in 1865.
A series of events will mark the visit, as follows:
| Tuesday 19 April | 16:00: Veneration of the icon 18:00: Mass of welcome, celebrated by Bishop Drennan 21:00: Healing service 22:30: Prayer around the icon |
| Wednesday 20 April | Mass at 9:00 & 11:00 |
The original icon was presented to the Redemptorists in December 1865, to be venerated in the order's newly-built Church of Sant' Alfonso in Rome. It was solemnly installed there on 26 April 1866. The Holy Father gave the Redemptorists a mandate to promote devotion to Our Lady of Perpetual Help throughout the world. Just over a year later, the first copy arrived in Mount St Alphonsus, Limerick.
More information on the icon and the pilgrimage may be found at the pilgrimage website.