Every August 22, the Catholic Church celebrates the memory of “Saint Mary, Queen of heaven and earth.”
In some places, this anniversary is granted the status of a holiday, as was established in the old order (ordination prior to the Second Vatican Council) by Pope Pius XII. After the conciliar reform, the day established for this universal celebration went from May 31 to August 22, with the rank of “obligatory memory.”
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Royalty of the Blessed Virgin and institution of her feast
It was Venerable Pope Pius XII who instituted in 1954 a day dedicated to celebrating Mary as queen of all creation.
In the encyclical “To the Queen of Heaven” (To the Queen of Heaven, n. 15), regarding the dignity and royalty of Mary, Pius XII noted the following: “Christ, the new Adam, is our King not only because he is the Son of God, but also because he is ours. Redeemer… Thus, according to a certain analogy, it can also be affirmed that the Blessed Virgin is Queen, not only because she is the Mother of God, but also because she has been associated as a new Eve with the new Adam.”
Mary Queen, in the hearts of the Popes
In 1997, the beloved Pope Saint John Paul II, on the occasion of this celebration, noted: “Popular devotion invokes Mary as Queen. The Council, after remembering the assumption of the Virgin “in body and soul to the glory of heaven”, explains that she was “elevated (…) by the Lord as Queen of the universe, to be conformed more fully to her Son, Lord of lords (cf. Rev 19, 16) and conqueror of sin and death” (The light of the nations59)”.
For his part, Pope Benedict XVI on Mary Queen’s Day in 2012 stated: “(Mary) is Queen precisely by loving us and helping us in all our needs, she is our sister and humble servant.”
In 2021, Pope Francis, through his Twitter account (today, X), stated: “With God nothing is lost! In Mary the goal is reached and we have before our eyes the reason why we walk: not to conquer the things below, which fade away, but the country above, which is forever.
Long live Santa María Reina!
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If you wish you can consult the Encyclical here To the Queen of Heaven (To the queen of heaven) from Pope Pius XII: https://ec.aciprensa.com/wiki/Mar%C3%ADa_reina_de_cielos_y_tierra.
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Central Editorial
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