[2] Pope Pius X raised the shrine to the status of Minor Basilica via the Pontifical decree Anno Reparatæ Salutis on 12 July 1911.

[citation needed] John Bosco commissioned the construction of the Basilica of Our Lady Help of Christians in order to coordinate all activities related to the Salesians in the Valdocco suburb.

According to legend, a vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared in a dream to Bosco in 1844 or 1845 and revealed the site of the martyrdom of the Turinese saints Solutor, Adventor and Octavius.

Pope Leo XIII granted a Canonical coronation to the painted image on 13 February 1903.

The basilica holds the tombs of saints Don Bosco, Maria Domenica Mazzarello, Dominic Savio and St. Joseph Benedict Cottolengo.