Whenever we pray the Litany of Loretto to rejoice in the wonders that God does, we invoke the intercession of Mary, Mother of Jesus and Mother of the Church, under the title of Mother of Good Counsel. This title has been given to Mary throughout the history of the Church since Pope Leo XIII inserted it into the litany in 1903.
“Our Lady of Good Counsel” is the title of an extremely fragile fresco on the wall of the Augustinian church at Genazzano, some thirty miles to the southeast of Rome. Tradition holds that the fresco is the work of a fifteenth-century artist named Gentile da Fabiano. The picture was discovered in 1467 when the Augustinian fathers began demolition of a wall in order to build their church. The fresco was incorporated into the church, and Catholics began to pay reverence to this image of Mary as stories of miracles attributed to the intercession of the Mother of Good Counsel spread.
A description of the miraculous arrival of the Icon of the Mother of Good Counsel in Genazzano is found at the Catholic Hythe website.
Because of this provincial devotion, the Augustinians were granted permission to celebrate a feast in honor of Mary under this title beginning in 1779.
In addition to Pope Leo XIII, Blessed Pope Pius IX and the beloved Blessed Pope John XXIII, who called the Second Vatican Council, have encouraged devotion to our Mother under this title.
Our patronal feast day is April 26th.