I am not sure what my own first vision of Mary was, but from an early age I was aware of two images: one a literal picture, the other an imagined scene; and both remain with me half a century later.
The picture was a gilded reproduction of an icon, the original of which is displayed in Rome in the Church of Saint Alfonsus Liguiri, not far from the central railway station Termini. The image is known as that of ‘Our Lady of Perpetual Help,’ or more traditionally of ‘Perpetual Succour.’ Byzantine in style, it was brought to Rome more than 500 years ago.
Legend has it that the painting was stolen from a Church in Crete by a merchant who sailed home with it, then to be caught in a storm from which all aboard were only saved by invoking the intercession of Mary. Once in Rome the icon passed through several other less than wholly devout hands, but in due course it became an object of veneration, and it remains such today.