The Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The Visitation celebrates Mary carrying Christ to Elizabeth, where John leaped for joy and Mary proclaimed the Magnificat.

The story

The Gospel of Luke places the Visitation soon after the Annunciation. The angel Gabriel had told Mary that she would conceive Jesus by the Holy Spirit. He also revealed that Mary’s elderly relative Elizabeth had conceived a son and was already in her sixth month. Mary then traveled in haste into the hill country of Judah. The Gospel does not name the town, although later Christian tradition associates the event with Ain Karim, near Jerusalem.

When Mary entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth, the child in Elizabeth’s womb leaped. Filled with the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth called Mary blessed among women and addressed her as the mother of her Lord. She also praised Mary’s faith in God’s promise. The unborn child was John the Baptist, who thus rejoiced in the presence of the unborn Messiah. This scene reveals the dignity of both children before birth and the saving presence of Christ from the first moments of his human life.

Mary answered with the canticle known as the Magnificat. She praised God for looking upon his lowly servant, showing mercy, casting down the proud, lifting up the lowly, and remembering his covenant with Israel. Her song draws deeply from the language of the Old Testament, especially the prayer of Hannah in 1 Samuel 2. Mary remained with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home. The Gospel presents her journey as an act of faith, service, and joyful proclamation.

A liturgical celebration of the Visitation developed during the Middle Ages. The Franciscans observed it by the thirteenth century. Pope Urban VI extended the feast to the Latin Church in 1389, during the Western Schism, with the hope of seeking peace and unity. Pope Boniface IX confirmed the observance. For centuries it was celebrated on July 2. In the 1969 revision of the General Roman Calendar, it was moved to May 31, placing it between the Annunciation of the Lord on March 25 and the Nativity of St. John the Baptist on June 24. It is celebrated as a feast.

What Visitation teaches

Mary receives Christ in faith and immediately carries his presence into another household. Her example teaches that genuine contemplation leads to loving service and praise. The Church honors Mary because all generations call her blessed in accordance with Luke 1:48 and CCC 971.

Patronage

expectant mothers, pregnant women, family visits, works of charity.

Prayer

God of mercy, you filled Mary with faith and moved her to serve Elizabeth with generous love. Through her intercession, make us attentive to families, expectant mothers, and every vulnerable human life. May our words and actions carry the joy of Christ to others. Amen.