MARY, QUEEN OF HEAVEN

 

MARY, QUEEN OF HEAVEN

Pope Pius XII promulgated the encyclical Ad Caeli Reginum on October 11, 1954.  “To the Queen of Heaven” established a new feast of Mary to be celebrated every year.  He explained that his motivation for the feast was to counter a growing threat of immorality and of war that was plaguing the world.  Having lived through the conflagration of World War II, he urged the world to turn to the Mother of the Savior to ask for peace.  “By this Encyclical Letter We are instituting a feast so that all may recognize more clearly and venerate more devoutly the merciful and maternal sway of the Mother of God. We are convinced that this feast will help to preserve, strengthen and prolong that peace among nations which daily is almost destroyed by recurring crises.”  

Four years before Ad Caeli Reginum the Holy Father issued the apostolic constitution Munificentissimus Deus (“Most Bountiful God”) which declared that all Christians are bound to believe in the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into heaven.  That Mary was raised to heaven by God after her “dormition,” was part of the faith of the people from the earliest centuries of the Church.  Pope Pius XII notes that faith in Mary’s queenship over heaven and earth also has deep roots.  “From the ancient Christian documents, from prayers of the liturgy, from the innate piety of the Christian people, from works of art, from every side We have gathered witnesses to the regal dignity of the Virgin Mother of God; We have likewise shown that the arguments deduced by Sacred Theology from the treasure store of the faith fully confirm this truth."  The recognition of Mary’s Assumption and her queenship are an essential element of devotion to her, a direct consequence of belief in Mary as Mother of the Word Incarnate.

Mary is a Queen because she is the Mother of Jesus, the King of kings.  He is the one promised by the prophets of the Old Testament who would reign forever on the throne of David.  He reigns now over the New Israel, which is the Church established by his bloody sacrifice.  Mary is the Queen Mother, which in the kingdom of Israel was the number two power because of her influence with the king.  But Pope Pius XII explains that Mary is Queen not only because of her Divine Motherhood, but also because she is “His associate in the redemption, in his struggle with His enemies and His final victory over them.”  She shares in Christ’s royalty “in a limited and analogous way...For from her union with Christ she attains a radiant eminence transcending that of any other creature; from her union with Christ she receives the royal right to dispose of the treasures of the Divine Redeemer's Kingdom; from her union with Christ finally is derived the inexhaustible efficacy of her maternal intercession before the Son and His Father.”

Pope Pius XII concludes Ad Caeli Reginum by calling all Christians to imitate the love and service of their Queen.  “Thus will it come about that all Christians, in honoring and imitating their sublime Queen and Mother, will realize they are truly brothers, and with all envy and avarice thrust aside, will promote love among classes, respect the rights of the weak, cherish peace. No one should think himself a son [or daughter] of Mary, worthy of being received under her powerful protection, unless, like her, he is just, gentle and pure, and shows a sincere desire for true brotherhood, not harming or injuring but rather helping and comforting others.”

The date for the celebration of the Memorial of the Queen of Heaven was changed by Pope St. Paul VI in 1970 from May 31 to August 22 so that it would be more closely connected to the Solemnity of the Assumption on August 15.  May 31 then became the feast of the Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth.