On the occasion of the Feast of Mary Queen, which the Catholic Church celebrates every August 22, Father José de Jesús Aguilar, deputy director of Radio and Television of the Primate Archdiocese of Mexico, explained the Catholic meaning of the reign of the Virgin.
In a video published on his YouTube channel, Father Aguilar recalled that “since ancient times, the crown has been a symbol of glory, power and eternity.”
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The symbolism of the crown in Christianity and the Kingdom of Christ
“Great leaders and rulers have used a crown and a staff, or scepter, as signs of their power. For this reason, These elements have been introduced symbolically into the world of art and also Christian reflection.”, he indicated.
“I am not referring to the crown of thorns with which Christ was crowned, and in fact it was the only crown he received in his life, but also to crowns of gold and jewels, royal or imperial crowns,” he specified.
Father Aguilar indicated that “we have to recognize that Christ came to found a Kingdom. He stated this on several occasions. A Kingdom that begins in this life, but reaches its fullness in eternal life.”
The Kingdom of Christ, the Mexican priest specified, does not need “a palace, luxurious halls, a great court, thrones and crowns of gold, but more important elements such as -He said so-, service, love, and “the daily surrender that the cross means.”
“In addition to being King, Christ also invites us all to be kings and queens“, he indicated, recalling that “a king is someone who does not allow himself to be dominated but rather dominates. From the Latin domino, dominuswhich means lord, the one who lords over all things, the one who has power over them.”
“Therefore, generally speaking, this term applies to people who conquer and dominate or govern territories. However, their reign is temporary, because they either die or are defeated by other kings,” he continued.
The meaning of the reign of the Virgin Mary
Father Aguilar highlighted that “in the case of Christ, He defeated the most important enemies that human beings have, which are sin and death. And once resurrected, he invites us to follow his path, defeating sin and united with his resurrection after death.
“But while we all make our efforts to defeat evil, the Blessed Virgin Mary is a model and example to follow”, he highlighted.
“As we all know, she was conceived without sin, just like Eve. But unlike Eve, who fell into temptation and sinned, Mary, because of her great faith and union with God, always defeated temptation and did not commit any sin.
The Virgin Mary as a model of victory over sin
Saint Mary, he added, “always remained full of graceas the Angel recognized when he greeted her and told her ‘full, you are of grace’. And precisely by remaining Immaculate she defeated the evil one, she defeated temptation.”
The Virgin, he stressed, “conquered sin, as represented in some of her images, by stepping on the snake of deception.”
Father Aguilar then indicated that “within the dogmas of the Church we recognize her as Immaculate. She therefore, she as Queen who dominated and defeated sin.”
“But there is another dogma in which we recognize that she also conquered death because death did not have the power to corrupt her body,” he said, noting that “the dogma of the Assumption of Mary affirms that she was taken body and soul to the heavens as Queen who defeated death.”
Crowns in ancient times and their Christian symbolism
The Mexican priest then recalled that “in ancient times, especially in Greece and Rome, successful athletes, victorious warriors, emperors or Kings used to be crowned with crowns made of olive or laurel.”
“The first Christians like Saint Paul knew this custom of crowns. That is why Saint Paul comments in the second letter to Timothy, chapter 4, verses 7 to 8.”
“In this letter he compares his work to that of an athlete who has run or a warrior. This is what he says: ‘I have fought the good fight, I have reached the end of the race, I have remained faithful, now the deserved crown awaits me that the Lord, the just judge, will give me on that day and he will not give it only to me. , but also to all those who with love await his glorious coming.
“Therefore, the crown in these cases was not one of power, but of triumph and recognition,” he explained.
Father Aguilar pointed out that “currently an olive wreath is considered a recognition of any achievement obtained peacefully, because the olive tree is also a sign of peace, but sooner or later, the laurel wreath dries up and the olive wreath withers.” .
“In one of the mysteries of the Holy Rosary we affirm that the Virgin Mary was crowned in Heaven and, in this case, although the paintings show it differently, we understand that her crown was not made of gold with pearls or precious stones, nor of laurel or olive, but that she received the unfading crown, that is, the crown that does not wither and remains always current because it comes from the hands of God.”
Mary Queen and the Bible
To those who would wonder if “this has any biblical foundation,” Father Aguilar recalled that the Book of Wisdom, in chapter 5, verse 16, indicates that “they will receive for this, from the hand of the Lord, the royal crown of honor.” and the diadem of beauty.”
It is, he explained, “a way of saying that God recognizes the effort and good works of the faithful, just as the merits of warriors or athletes are recognized.”
“This allows us, therefore, to call Mary Queen and represent her with a crown. It doesn’t matter what material it is, the important thing is to recognize her as Queen,” she said.
The Rosary and the 13 mentions of the Virgin Mary as Queen
The priest noted that “in the Rosary we recognize her 13 times as Queen. Do you remember them?: Queen of the angels, of the patriarchs, of the prophets, of the apostles, of the martyrs, of the confessors, of the virgins, of the Saints, Queen conceived without original sin, Queen assumed into heaven, queen of the Most Holy Rosary, queen of the family, queen of peace.”
Other titles and invocations of the Virgin Mary as Queen
“But we also call her Queen of Heaven or Mary Queen. She is also called Queen of Mercy, because her work is to exercise compassion and achieve God’s compassion and forgiveness for men,” she added.
Father Aguilar also later recalled that “in the Hail prayer we say ‘God, hail you, Queen and mother.’ In the prayer of Regina Coeliwe say to her ‘Queen of heaven, rejoice’. The Virgin of Carmen is often called ‘Queen of the seas’.”
“The Virgin of Guadalupe is often called ‘Queen of Mexico and Empress of America’”.
The Mexican priest also pointed out that “it is common” that “some ceremonies are carried out in which a group or population crowns the Virgin Mary with a small crown of precious metal.”
Among these cases, he noted, is “the pontifical coronation, in which the Pope is directly the one who grants the Virgin Mary this honor.”
“Be that as it may, we have the Virgin Mary as queen of another place. Not only as queen of heaven, but I would also add an invocation to the litany that does not exist: Mary, queen of our hearts,” she concluded.
Originally published August 22, 2021. It has been updated for republication.
David Ramos
Graduated in Communication Sciences from the Universidad Privada del Norte in Trujillo, Peru. With more than 12 years of experience in Catholic journalism working at ACI Prensa, I have been based in Mexico since 2018. I have covered Pope Francis’ trips to Ecuador, Paraguay, Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Peru and Panama.