Baclaran Church also Known as Redemptorist ChurchThe Redemptorists brought the picture of Our Mother of Perpetual Help to the Philippines in 1906. The Novena in Baclaran began on the 23rd of June, 1948. There were only 70 people present. Within a year, a second session had to be provided and some extensions were made to the small wooden church. Before the end of 1949, there were eight crowded sessions of the Novena. The Wednesday of each week became a day of prayer to Our Mother of Perpetual Help in the whole nation.
Inside the Church The increasing attendance of the devotees forced the Redemptorists to consider a more spacious church. The bulk of the money that built the Shrine came from small offerings of very ordinary people. This is why it took six years to build.
On January, 1958, the whole Philippine Hierarchy officially declared the Baclaran Church to be the National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help. And on December 1, 1958, the completed church was solemnly consecrated by Archbishop Rufino Card. Santos of Manila. Since the day when the Shrine opened, it has never been closed, either day or night.
The church has a capacity for 2,000 persons seated, and for another 9,000 standing. On a Wednesday, there are 7 sessions of the Novena with Benedictions, 3 sessions of Novena-Masses; and 2 sung Masses. There are about 120,000 devotees who come to Baclaran each Wednesday to pray the Novena. They start coming from 4:00 AM until past midnight.