The Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Beatae Mariae Virginis Reginae
On this feast the Church honours the Blessed Virgin Mary as Queen of heaven and earth, raised above all the angels and saints, who reigns with her Son and intercedes for us as our Mother and our Queen.
This feast celebrates the royal dignity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. As the Mother of Christ the King, she shares in a singular way in the glory of her Son, and the Church hails her as Queen of heaven and earth, Queen of angels and of saints. The feast of the Queenship of Mary was established for the universal Church by Pope Pius XII in 1954, who appointed that it be kept each year on the thirty-first of May, crowning the month traditionally dedicated to Our Lady.
Why the Church honours Mary as Queen
The Church’s veneration of Mary as Queen is no new devotion, but the flowering of a faith held from ancient times. Because she is the Mother of God, the Blessed Virgin is exalted above every other creature; and because she was united most closely to the work of her Son in His suffering and His triumph, she shares now in His royal glory. Taken up body and soul into heaven, she is crowned by her Son and reigns with Him, not by her own power but by His gift and in dependence upon Him.
Her queenship is wholly maternal. Mary reigns to intercede, to protect, and to lead souls to Christ. The faithful have ever turned to her under the title of Queen — in the Salve Regina and the Regina cæli, in the litanies that hail her Queen of angels, of patriarchs, of apostles, of martyrs, and of all saints. To call her Queen is to confess that she who is nearest to the King is nearest also to His mercy, and most powerful in her prayers for us.
Our Queen and our Mother
The collect of the feast asks that we who keep the festival of the Blessed Virgin Mary our Queen may, by her assistance, obtain peace in this life and glory in the next. In honouring Mary’s queenship the Church does not turn from Christ but is led more surely to Him, for all the honour given to the Mother redounds to the glory of the Son. The faithful are invited on this day to renew their devotion to her, to seek her protection, and to look to the crown that awaits all who serve God faithfully, of which her glory is the first fruits and the promise.
The Collect
Grant us, we beseech Thee, O Lord, that we who keep the festival of the Blessed Virgin Mary our Queen may, defended by her protection, deserve to obtain peace in this present life and glory in the life to come.
Concéde nobis, quæsumus, Dómine: ut, qui solemnitátem beátæ Maríæ Vírginis Regínæ nostræ celebrámus; ejus múniti præsídio, pacem in præsénti et glóriam in futúro conséqui mereámur. Per Dóminum.
Patronage
Under the title of Queen, the Blessed Virgin Mary is invoked as Queen of heaven and earth, Queen of angels and of all saints, and the loving protectress of all who seek her aid.
In the Modern Calendar
In the modern calendar the Queenship of Mary is observed on 22 August (the octave day of the Assumption); the thirty-first of May is kept as the feast of the Visitation.
Common Questions
When is the feast of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary?
In the calendar of the 1962 Roman Missal it is kept on 31 May as a Second Class feast. In the modern calendar the Queenship of Mary is observed on 22 August.
Why does the Church call Mary a Queen?
Because she is the Mother of Christ the King and shares uniquely in His glory. Taken up into heaven, she reigns with her Son — not by her own power but by His gift — and intercedes for the faithful as their Mother and Queen. The title is very ancient, found in prayers such as the Salve Regina.
Who established this feast?
Pope Pius XII instituted the feast of the Queenship of Mary for the universal Church in 1954, assigning it to 31 May. In the later reform of the calendar the feast was moved to 22 August.
See where this feast falls in the Church’s year on the liturgical calendar, or find a Traditional Latin Mass near you.
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