June 17
María Auxiliadora, Santiago, Chile
In 1875, the Bank of Valparaíso repossessed an unfinished building complex belonging to the Mercedarians in Santiago. In 1891, a new order, the Salesians of St. John Bosco, took it over for their schools and sanctuary, where on June 17, 1894, they installed a large altarpiece of their patron, Mary Help of Christians, after the one Tommaso Lorenzone painted at Don Bosco's direction in 1868 for the Salesian mother church in Turin. It shows Mary as Queen of Apostles, holding the Child with her left hand and a scepter in her right. The large figures below her are Sts. Peter and Paul. The Santiago copy was crowned March 1, 1903. A few years later, a statue of María Auxiliadora was added by the door near the Alameda School. In recent years, devotees have carried that statue, under the title "Help and Defender of Life," in procession through the streets on the Saturday before the feast of Mary Help of Christians, celebrated May 24.
Sources:
 | Santuario Nacional María Auxiliadora de Santiago - Chile, www.santuariomariaauxiliadora.cl. |
| "Marian Shrines in Chile," The Mary Page, campus.udayton.edu/mary//resources/chile.html (photo) |
Also celebrated this date:
| Maria im Walde, Dolina, Grafenstein, Carinthia, Austria (Maria in the Forest). Apparitions to three shepherdesses, 1849. |
| Notre-Dame de la Guerche, La Guerche de Bretagne, Ille et Vilaine, Brittany, France. Statue crowned, 1937. |
| Unbefleckten Empfängnis von Lourdes, Zeil am Main, Lower Franconia, Bavaria, Germany (Immaculate Conception of Lourdes). Grotto inaugurated at Zeiler Käppele, 1883. |
| Mária Szívének, Gerjén, Tolna, Hungary (Heart of Mary). Church dedicated, 1949. Pilgrimage on 13th of months May-October. |
| Beata Vergine delle Grazie, Cartoceto, Pesaro e Urbino, Marche, Italy. After 1884 healing, fresco moved from outdoor niche to parish church June 17, 1887; centennial celebrated June 17, 1987. Festa Sept. 8. |
| Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Ramallah, West Bank, Palestine. Icon wept oil, 1998. |
| Regina Luminii, Seuca, Ganesti, Mures, Transylvania, Romania (Queen of Light). Apparitions began, 1995; annual anniversary celebration. |
| Our Lady of Guadalupe, La Crosse, Wisconsin, USA. Groundbreaking for shrine complex, 2001. |