The Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary
“He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
This memorial honors Mary as Queen because she is the Mother of Christ the King and shares uniquely in his heavenly glory.
The story
Mary's queenship is rooted in her relationship to Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God and the promised heir of David. At the Annunciation, Gabriel declared that the Lord God would give Jesus the throne of David and that his kingdom would have no end. Elizabeth later greeted Mary as the mother of her Lord. These passages do not present Mary as a goddess or as a rival to Christ. Her dignity comes entirely from God's grace and from her unique vocation as the Mother of the incarnate King.
Christians gradually expressed this belief in prayer, preaching, sacred art, and liturgy. Early Christian writers called Mary a lady or queen because she was the Mother of the Lord. Medieval hymns such as Salve Regina and Regina caeli made the title familiar throughout the Western Church. Eastern Christians likewise honored the Mother of God with royal imagery. This longstanding devotion was a pious and liturgical tradition before it received a distinct feast in the universal Roman calendar.
On October 11, 1954, Pope Pius XII issued the encyclical Ad caeli Reginam. Drawing upon Scripture, the Fathers, theology, and centuries of worship, he taught that Mary should be called Queen above all because she is the Mother of God and because she shared closely in the redemptive work of her Son. He instituted a liturgical feast of Mary's queenship, first celebrated on May 31. He also asked that the Immaculate Heart of Mary be specially invoked for peace during a period marked by war and political oppression.
The revision of the Roman calendar in 1969 moved the memorial to August 22, eight days after the Solemnity of the Assumption. This placement makes its meaning especially clear. Mary, assumed body and soul into heavenly glory, shares in her Son's victory and reign. The Catechism states that she was exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things, while remaining a creature redeemed by Christ and wholly dependent upon him. Her queenship is therefore maternal, intercessory, and subordinate to the one kingship of Jesus. The Church celebrates this truth as a memorial in the General Roman Calendar.
What Queenship teaches
Mary's queenship shows what God's grace can accomplish in a person who receives his word with faith. Her honor always leads to Christ, whose kingdom is one of truth, holiness, justice, and peace. See CCC 966 and Luke 1:32-33.
Patronage
peace, the Church, Christian families, Marian devotion.
Prayer
O God, you crowned the Blessed Virgin Mary as Queen beside her Son, the King of kings. Through her intercession, grant peace to the world and teach us to serve Christ with humility and steadfast faith. Amen.