The Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Their story

Christians have long honored Mary as Queen. Hymns and prayers such as the Hail, Holy Queen and the Regina Caeli have been sung for centuries, and the fifth Glorious Mystery of the rosary celebrates Mary's coronation as Queen of Heaven and Earth. In 1954, at the close of a Marian Year, Pope Pius XII established a feast in honor of the Queenship of Mary. The feast was moved in 1969 to August 22, one week after the Assumption, to show the close connection between the two. Mary, taken body and soul into heaven, shares in the glory and the reign of her Son, Christ the King. In the Old Testament kingdom of Israel, the mother of the king held a place of honor as queen mother and would bring the people's requests to her son. In the same way, Mary is a queen who intercedes for us with Jesus. Mary's queenship is not about power as the world understands it. She who called herself the handmaid of the Lord is a queen of humble service, mercy and love. Her reign reminds us that in God's kingdom the greatest are those who serve, and it gives us hope that Christ's victory will be complete.