The Catholic Church celebrates the Queenship of Mary on Aug. 22nd.
Pope Pius XII established the feast of the Queenship of Mary in his encyclical Ad Caeli Reginam on Oct. 11, 1954. However, Pope Paul VI moved the celebration in 1969 to emphasize the relationship between the Assumption and the Queenship of Mary.
Ad Caeli Reginam reaffirmed the Church’s devotion to Mary and her role in salvation history. It also gives a nod to the Assumption of Mary, which was declared an official dogma of the Catholic Church in 1950.
This encyclical focuses on the recognition of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, as the queen of heaven and earth. It gives a nod to her special role in our lives as Catholics and her powerful intercession.
In the document, Pope Pius XII encourages us to honor Mary’s Queenship by acknowledging her as a powerful advocate in heaven.
Here are six excerpts from Pope Pius XII's Ad Caeli Reginam that shed light on the powerful role of Mary, Queen of Heaven and Earth:
“From the earliest ages of the Catholic Church a Christian people, whether in time of triumph or more especially in time of crisis, has addressed prayers of petition and hymns of praise and veneration to the Queen of Heaven…we are taught that Mary, the Virgin Mother of God, reigns with a mother's solicitude over the entire world, just as she is crowned in heavenly blessedness with the glory of a Queen.
“But the Blessed Virgin Mary should be called Queen, not only because of her Divine Motherhood, but also because God has willed her to have an exceptional role in the work of our eternal salvation."
“For from her union with Christ she attains a radiant eminence transcending that of any other creature; from her union with Christ she receives the royal right to dispose of the treasures of the Divine Redeemer's Kingdom; from her union with Christ finally is derived the inexhaustible efficacy of her maternal intercession before the Son and His Father."
“In order to understand better this sublime dignity of the Mother of God over all creatures let us recall that the holy Mother of God was, at the very moment of her Immaculate Conception, so filled with grace as to surpass the grace of all the Saints."
“Let all Christians, therefore, glory in being subjects of the Virgin Mother of God, who, while wielding royal power, is on fire with a mother's love."
“By this Encyclical Letter We are instituting a feast so that all may recognize more clearly and venerate more devoutly the merciful and maternal sway of the Mother of God. We are convinced that this feast will help to preserve, strengthen and prolong that peace among nations which daily is almost destroyed by recurring crises. Is she not a rainbow in the clouds reaching towards God, the pledge of a covenant of peace?"
You can read the full text here.
Prayer in Honor of the Queenship of Mary
O Mary Immaculate Queen, look down upon this distressed and suffering world. You know our misery and our weakness. O thou who art our Mother, saving us in the hour of peril, have compassion on us in these days of great and heavy trial.
Jesus has confided to you the treasure of His grace, and through you He wills to grant us pardon and mercy. In these hours of anguish, therefore, your children come to you as their hope.
We recognize your Queenship and ardently desire your triumph. We need a Mother and a Mother's Heart. You are for us the luminous dawn which dissipates our darkness and points out the way to life. In your clemency, obtain for us the courage and the confidence of which we have such need.
Most Holy and Adorable Trinity, You Who did crown with glory in Heaven the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Savior, grant that all her children on earth may acknowledge her as their Sovereign Queen, that all hearts, homes, and nations may recognize her rights as Mother and as Queen.
Mary Immaculate Queen, triumph and reign! Amen.
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