The Queenship of Mary feast, celebrated on August 22nd, invites us to honor Mary as Queen of Heaven and Earth. This beautiful feast follows eight days after the Assumption, reminding us that after being taken body and soul into Heaven, Mary was crowned by her Son as Queen of all creation.
When we celebrate Mary’s queenship, we honor our spiritual Mother who intercedes for us with tremendous love. Her crown isn’t one of earthly authority, but of heavenly service and perfect discipleship.
The Biblical Roots of Mary’s Queenship
While recognizing Mary as Queen of heaven and earth is steeped in Catholic tradition, it draws its roots from Scripture.
Biblical scholar Scott Hahn, in his nook Hail, Holy Queen: The Mother of God in the Word of God, explores the concept of “Queen Mother”.
In “Near Eastern” cultures, “The woman ordinarily honored as queen was not the wife of the king, but the mother of the king,” a tradition that dates back to the Old Testmant and the term gebirah.
Many point to Chapter 12 of the Book of Revelation as vivid imagery of Mary’s reign as queen:
“A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.” (Revelation 12:1).
Mary’s Queenship and the Popes
Pope Sixtus IV, in the 1400s papal bull Cum praeexcelsa, referred to Mary as Queen. Pope Benedict XIV’s apostolic letter Gloriosae Dominae, written in 1748, proclaimed Mary “Queen of heaven and earth.”
Pope Piux XIX, in Ineffabilis Deus, described Mary’s role as Queen in language that resonated more than 150 years later.
“And, since she has been appointed by God to be the Queen of heaven and earth, and is exalted above all the choirs of angels and classes of saints, and even stands at the right hand of her Only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, Our Lord, she presents our petitions in a most efficacious manner,” he wrote. “She obtains what she asks for. She cannot be frustrated.”
His words “speak of the power of the Queen of heaven and earth–her intercessory role as mediatrix between her Son and all men.”
In Ad Caeli Reginam, written in 1954, Pope Pius XII beautifully described our reliance on Mary through the centuries, saying,
From the earliest ages of the catholic church a Christian people, whether in time of triumph or more especially in time of crisis, has addressed prayers of petition and hymns of praise and veneration to the Queen of Heaven.
We can embrace Mary as our Mother by ask her to intercede for us through prayer.
Prayers to Honor Mary’s Queenship
Praying to Mary as Queen connects us to her powerful intercession. Here are meaningful ways to honor her royal dignity:
- Pray the Hail Mary with special attention to the words “pray for us sinners”
- Pray the angelus prayer
- Recite the Salve Regina (Hail, Holy Queen) prayer
- Pray the Rosary
- Begin a novena to Mary, Queen of Heaven
The “Salve Regina”, which we pray at the end of a rosary, is particularly fitting for this feast. This ancient prayer addresses Mary directly as our Queen and Mother of Mercy:
Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy,
Our life, our sweetness and our hope.
To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve;
To thee do we send up our sighs,
Mourning and weeping in this valley of tears.
Turn then, most gracious advocate,
Thine eyes of mercy toward us;
And after this our exile,
Show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.
Queenship of Mary Feast Day
Catholics celerbate the feast of the Queenship of Mary each year on August 22nd, we can honor Mary’s Queenship in several meaningful ways:
- Attend Mass if possible, reflecting on the Queenship of Mary readings
- Pray the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary
- Place flowers near an image of Mary in your home
- Begin your morning prayer by asking for Mary’s queenly intercession
- Read and reflect on Pope Pius XII’s encyclical “Ad Caeli Reginam” which established this feast
The feast is especially popular in Australia, which counts Mary as its patroness under the title of “Help of Christians.”
Hallow Resources for Feast of Queenship of Mary
The Hallow app offers a number of resources to help you draw closer to God through Mary on the feast of her Queenship.
In addition to many of the prayers mentioned above (Salve Regina, Rosary, Angelus), Hallow also offers the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Mary, Undoer of Knots Novena, along with many of prayers appropriate for this feast day.
Since the feast calls during St. Michael’s Lent, we also offer a session led by Sr. Alicia Torres, as part of our Michael the Archangel challenge, focusing on Mary as Queen of Angeles.