The feast of Our Lady of Prompt Succor has special significance for Americans, for this statue is the most famous miraculous image in U.S. history.
In 1727, French Ursuline nuns founded a monastery and schools in New Orleans, Louisiana. By 1803, Mother Saint Andre Madier sent a request for more nuns to Mother Saint Michel in France. The bishop, short-handed because of the French Revolution, declined the request. Mother Saint Michel decided to appeal to the pope, who was at that time a prisoner of Napoleon. She prayed to Our Lady to obtain a prompt answer, promising if she did so to honor her in New Orleans under the title of Our Lady of Prompt Succor. She sent her letter on March 19, 1809, and against all odds, received a favorable response on April 29, 1809. She had permission to go to New Orleans and to take several postulants with her.
Mother Saint Michel commissioned the statue of Our Lady of Prompt Succor and brought it to New Orleans, where it remains today. Since then, Our Lady of Prompt Succor has interceded for many who have sought her help on numerous occasions.
Two miracles in particular — the preservation of the monastery from the fire which raged in the city in 1812, and the victory of General Andrew Jackson over a much larger British force in 1815 — are attributed to the intercession of Our Lady of Prompt Succor.
Prayer
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)
