Today we celebrate the feast of the Queenship of Mary, promulgated by Pope Pius XII in 1954. Although the feast itself is of recent origin, it commemorates the ancient theological tradition which holds that Mary's dignity as Queen of Heaven and Earth rests upon her even greater dignity as mother of God. As St. John Damascene writes, "When she became Mother of the Creator, she truly became Queen of every creature."
In Pope Pius XII's original plan, the Queenship of Mary was to be celebrated on May 31. However, in 1969, Pope Paul VI moved the celebration of the Immaculate Heart of Mary from the Octave of the Assumption to the Saturday immediately after the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which is celebrated on the final Friday of June. The Octave of the Assumption now being without a Marian feast, Pope Paul VI moved the feast of the Queenship of Mary from May 31 to the Immaculate Heart of Mary's former date.
Mary, Queen of Heaven and Earth, pray for us.
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