The church has acknowledged Mary as “queen” since its earliest days. As soon as Mary accepted God’s plan for her to be the Mother of the Savior, our King, she was Queen. Mary was never a queen in a palace, attended by ladies-in-waiting, nor did she rule over any lands. Like her Son, Mary’s royalty was wrapped in mystery and humility. This royal family lived in simplicity and obedience to God.
In 1954, Pope Pius XII issued the encyclical Ad Caeli Reginam (Queen of Heaven). Sixty years later, this encyclical sounds as fresh as if it was written yesterday. Bearing in mind that Pope Pius was addressing a world still recovering from a horrific world war, he knew that weary hearts needed a mother’s love:
Following upon the frightful calamities which before Our very eyes have reduced flourishing cities, towns, and villages to ruins, We see to Our sorrow that many great moral evils are being spread abroad in what may be described as a violent flood. Occasionally We behold justice giving way; and, on the one hand and the other, the victory of the powers of corruption. The threat of this fearful crisis fills Us with a great anguish, and so with confidence We have recourse to Mary Our Queen, making known to her those sentiments of filial reverence which are not Ours alone, but which belong to all those who glory in the name of Christian.
Today, we watch these same circumstances unfold around us. Our neighbors in Louisiana are overcome with the aftermath of flooding. Our cities have been on fire with riots and shootings all summer long. Our Syrian brothers and sisters have been driven from their homes, their cities, towns and places of worship destroyed. How do we continue to be faithful in our sorrow? We must turn to Mary, our Queen.
Pope Pius XII pointed out that referring to Mary as “queen” is nothing new to Christians:
6. In this matter We do not wish to propose a new truth to be believed by Christians, since the title and the arguments on which Mary’s queenly dignity is based have already been clearly set forth, and are to be found in ancient documents of the Church and in the books of the sacred liturgy.
7. It is Our pleasure to recall these things in the present encyclical letter, that We may renew the praises of Our heavenly Mother, and enkindle a more fervent devotion towards her, to the spiritual benefit of all mankind.
8. From early times Christians have believed, and not without reason, that she of whom was born the Son of the Most High received privileges of grace above all other beings created by God. He “will reign in the house of Jacob forever,” “the Prince of Peace,”the “King of Kings and Lord of Lords.” And when Christians reflected upon the intimate connection that obtains between a mother and a son, they readily acknowledged the supreme royal dignity of the Mother of God.
9. Hence it is not surprising that the early writers of the Church called Mary “the Mother of the King” and “the Mother of the Lord,” basing their stand on the words of St. Gabriel the archangel, who foretold that the Son of Mary would reign forever, and on the words of Elizabeth who greeted her with reverence and called her “the Mother of my Lord.”Thereby they clearly signified that she derived a certain eminence and exalted station from the royal dignity of her Son.
The pope warned about exaggerating Mary’s role in the church and in our lives, saying that any recognition of Mary’s “divine dignity” must always be attributed to the “infinite goodness that is God.” That is, Mary has no power or ability or role that God Himself has not granted her; she does nothing of her own will but only that of God’s.
Pope Pius XII concluded this encyclical:
51. 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. Is she not a rainbow in the clouds reaching towards God, the pledge of a covenant of peace? “Look upon the rainbow, and bless Him that made it; surely it is beautiful in its brightness. It encompasses the heaven about with the circle of its glory, the hands of the Most High have displayed it.”Whoever, therefore, reverences the Queen of heaven and earth – and let no one consider himself exempt from this tribute of a grateful and loving soul – let him invoke the most effective of Queens, the Mediatrix of peace; let him respect and preserve peace, which is not wickedness unpunished nor freedom without restraint, but a well-ordered harmony under the rule of the will of God; to its safeguarding and growth the gentle urgings and commands of the Virgin Mary impel us.
52. Earnestly desiring that the Queen and Mother of Christendom may hear these Our prayers, and by her peace make happy a world shaken by hate, and may, after this exile show unto us all Jesus, Who will be our eternal peace and joy, to you, Venerable Brothers, and to your flocks, as a promise of God’s divine help and a pledge of Our love, from Our heart We impart the Apostolic Benediction.
By acknowledging Mary as Queen, we acknowledge Her Son’s Divinity. She shines only in reflection of His Light. She is our mother, because we have been adopted by God the Father through our baptism in Christ Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Salve, Regina, mater misericordiae; vita, dulcedo et spes nostra, salve. Hail, holy Queen, Mother of mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope.
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