The Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
In Visitatione Beatae Mariae Virginis
This feast commemorates the visit of the Blessed Virgin Mary, bearing the Lord within her, to her cousin Saint Elizabeth, when the infant John leaped for joy and Mary sang the Magnificat in praise of God.
The Visitation recalls a scene of great tenderness and joy recorded in the Gospel of Saint Luke. When the Archangel Gabriel had announced to the Blessed Virgin Mary that she should be the Mother of God, and had told her also that her cousin Elizabeth, though aged, had conceived a son, Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a city of Juda, to visit and assist her kinswoman. Carrying within her the Incarnate Word, she came to the house of Zachary and greeted Elizabeth.
The meeting of the two mothers
At the sound of Mary’s greeting, the infant John leaped for joy in the womb of Elizabeth, who was filled with the Holy Ghost and cried out with a loud voice: “Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” Thus Elizabeth, moved by the Spirit, was the first to hail Mary as the Mother of the Lord, and blessed her also for her faith: “Blessed art thou that hast believed, for those things shall be accomplished that were spoken to thee by the Lord.”
In answer, the Blessed Virgin sang that canticle of praise which the Church repeats each day at Vespers, the Magnificat: “My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.” In humility she ascribed all to the goodness of God, who had regarded the lowliness of his handmaid, and who scatters the proud and exalts the humble. Mary remained with Elizabeth about three months, in loving service, before returning to her own home.
The grace of the feast
The feast of the Visitation, kept on the second of July at the close of the octave of Saint John the Baptist, honours both the charity of our Lady, who hastened to serve her cousin, and the sanctification of the Forerunner, who was filled with grace at the presence of his Lord while yet unborn. It teaches the faithful to carry Christ to others, as Mary bore him to the house of Elizabeth, and to greet his coming with joy.
The collect of the feast prays that, as we venerate the most holy Virgin Mother of God, so by the help of her intercession we may be delivered from present evils and enjoy eternal gladness. In this mystery the Church contemplates the meeting of the two mothers and the two children, and the first proclamation of the Gospel of joy.
The Collect
Grant, we beseech thee, O almighty God: that we thy servants may enjoy continual health of mind and body; and, by the glorious intercession of the blessed Mary ever Virgin, may be delivered from present sorrow, and enjoy eternal gladness.
Fámulis tuis, quæsumus, Dómine, cæléstis grátiæ munus impertíre: ut, quibus beátæ Vírginis partús exístitit salútis exórdium; Visitatiónis eius votíva solemnitas pacis tríbuat increméntum.
Patronage
The feast honours the Blessed Virgin Mary in her charity and is held in devotion as a mystery of the Rosary, the second Joyful Mystery.
In the Modern Calendar
In the modern calendar the Visitation is observed on 31 May, that it may fall between the Annunciation in March and the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist in June.
Common Questions
When is the feast of the Visitation?
In the calendar of the 1962 Roman Missal it is kept on 2 July as a Second Class feast. In the modern calendar it is observed on 31 May.
What does the Visitation celebrate?
It commemorates the visit of the Blessed Virgin Mary, then bearing the Lord within her, to her cousin Saint Elizabeth. At Mary’s greeting the infant John the Baptist leaped for joy in Elizabeth’s womb, and Mary sang the Magnificat in praise of God.
Why was the date changed in the modern calendar?
In the calendar of the 1962 Missal the feast falls on 2 July, at the close of the octave of Saint John the Baptist. In the modern calendar it was moved to 31 May so that it might come between the Annunciation on 25 March and the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist on 24 June, following the order of the Gospel events.
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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