Queen of Heaven

Authority level: Authoritative doctrine
GuideMary's queenship is authoritatively taught as a created and subordinate participation in Christ's kingship, grounded in dogmas including divine motherhood and Assumption; imagery and devotional applications remain properly distinguished.
Contents

Queen of Heaven is a title of the Blessed Virgin Mary expressing her glorified participation in the kingship of Jesus Christ, her Son and the universal King, and her maternal intercession within the communion of saints; it never makes her divine, equal to Christ, or an independent ruler beside him.

Queen of Heaven (Latin: Regina Caeli) is a title given by the Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodoxy, to Mary, mother of Jesus, and, to a lesser extent, in Evangelical Lutheranism and Anglicanism.[12] The title has long been a tradition, included in prayers and devotional literature and seen in Western art in the subject of the Coronation of the Virgin from the High Middle Ages, long before the Church gave it a formal definition status.

The Catholic teaching on this subject is expressed in the papal encyclical Ad Caeli Reginam, issued by Pope Pius XII in 1954. Therein, the pope states that Mary is called Queen of Heaven because her son, Jesus Christ, was charged as being "King of Israel" and the heavenly king of the universe.[13] This would render the mother of the king as the "queen mother" of Israel.

Meaning of the title

Mary is Queen because Christ is King. His kingdom belongs to him by divine nature, creation, hypostatic union, redemption, and the Father's messianic gift. Mary's queenship is received: the Mother of the King is glorified by grace and shares maternally in his concern for the members of his Body. She possesses no sovereignty detached from his will and adds nothing deficient to his mediation.

Heaven names the communion of divine life in which the risen Christ reigns and the saints see God, not merely a location above the clouds. Mary has been assumed body and soul and lives within that glory. Calling her Queen of Heaven expresses her pre-eminent place among creatures and her relation to the victorious Messiah; it does not assign her jurisdiction over God or make the universe a divided monarchy.

The title belongs to authentic Catholic doctrine and liturgy, while theological explanations and artistic symbols retain their proper grades. It is not itself a fifth Marian dogma defined by one solemn formula. Its doctrinal content draws on revealed truths—especially divine motherhood, communion of saints, Christ's kingship, and the Assumption—and on the authoritative ordinary Magisterium that interprets their relation.

Christ the universal King

Jesus is the promised Davidic Messiah whose kingdom will have no end, yet his reign exceeds political restoration. As the eternal Son he is Lord of creation; as incarnate Redeemer he conquers through obedient love, Cross, Resurrection, and Ascension. All authority in heaven and earth belongs to him. Every Marian title must begin with this absolute and unshared center.

Christ's kingship is not delegated to Mary as though he withdrew from government. He remains the one mediator, high priest, judge, and head of the Church. The saints participate in his reign because grace unites them to him, just as the redeemed share holiness and life without becoming their source. Mary's participation is supreme among creatures and remains infinitely below divine kingship.

The New Testament promise that believers will reign with Christ provides the general horizon for created participation. The Twelve receive a particular eschatological role; martyrs reign; the whole holy people becomes a royal priesthood. Mary's queenship does not isolate her from this Body but manifests the fullest created realization of a destiny given through the Son.

Biblical foundations

The Davidic queen mother

In the Davidic kingdom the gebirah, commonly the king's mother rather than one wife among several, could hold an honored courtly office and bring petitions before the king. Bathsheba's place beside Solomon and the repeated naming of royal mothers supply a biblical pattern. Since Jesus receives David's throne forever, Catholic typology sees his mother as the messianic Queen Mother.

The typology does not imply that every act of an ancient queen mother was holy or that Mary controls Christ as Bathsheba attempted to influence Solomon. Fulfillment purifies the type. Mary's request at Cana is subordinate—she presents the need and directs servants to do whatever Jesus says—while the Son freely inaugurates the sign according to his hour.

The woman clothed with the sun

Revelation depicts a woman clothed with the sun, crowned with twelve stars, opposed by the dragon, and associated with the messianic ruler and other children who keep God's commandments. The primary image gathers Israel, Zion, and the Church, yet Mary belongs personally within it as mother of the Messiah and exemplar of the faithful people. Catholic interpretation allows these dimensions to coexist rather than forcing a single exclusion.[1]

The crown contributes to Marian queenship when Revelation is read canonically with the Gospel and the Church's Tradition. The text is apocalyptic symbol, not a journalistic description of a coronation ceremony in heaven. Its imagery witnesses to victory, covenant people, maternity, persecution, and eschatological glory; doctrine must respect that richness rather than pretending the verse alone contains every later title explicitly.[2]

Annunciation, Magnificat, and Cana

Gabriel announces that Mary's Son will receive David's throne and reign forever. Elizabeth calls her mother of my Lord, and the Magnificat places her blessedness within God's overthrow of proud powers and fidelity to Israel. Her royal dignity therefore arises inside a kingdom of mercy, humility, and covenant fulfillment, not worldly domination.

At Cana Mary notices need, addresses Jesus, accepts his mysterious reference to the hour, and tells the servants to obey him. The episode reveals maternal intercession ordered entirely to Christ's command and glory. It does not portray her as overriding him. Calvary and the praying Church of Acts deepen this maternal participation without creating another source of grace.

Divine motherhood and the new Eve

Mary's divine motherhood is the nearest foundation of queenship: she is mother of the incarnate King. Human motherhood does not cause his divine authority, but it creates a true permanent relation to the person who possesses it. As the risen Christ never ceases to be the Son born from her, her maternal dignity persists in glory.[3]

The new Eve tradition adds a dimension of cooperation. Where Eve's disobedience is associated with Adam's fall, Mary's obedient faith receives the new Adam and serves his saving mission. Christ alone crushes sin by his own authority and sacrifice; Mary's enmity with the serpent and maternal participation are fruits of his grace. Queenship names victory shared by the perfectly redeemed disciple.

Neither theme turns biological relation into automatic power. Jesus corrects interpretations that exalt mere physical maternity apart from hearing God's word, and Mary herself exemplifies the blessed obedience he names. Catholic tradition holds motherhood and discipleship together: the Queen is the handmaid whose greatness is what the Almighty has done for her.

Assumption and heavenly glory

The Assumption places Mary bodily within the eschatological glory of her Son. She does not await the general resurrection in a disembodied state but already shares its fruit by singular grace. Queenship is therefore not a courtly fiction attached to a dead historical figure; it describes the living Mother of the Lord within the communion of saints.[4]

Pius XII's definition of the Assumption calls Mary immaculate, ever-virgin, Mother of God, and taken body and soul into heavenly glory. Vatican II says that after being exalted by the Lord she was crowned Queen of all. The sequence shows dependence: God assumes and exalts; Mary receives glory and exercises maternal care under Christ.[5]

Artists often depict a distinct coronation after the Assumption. The image can teach glorification but does not require belief in a datable post-Assumption ceremony witnessed by apostles. Liturgical and iconographic language represents theological reality through symbols whose narrative detail should not be mistaken for an additional revealed event.

Patristic and medieval development

Early Christians applied royal language to Mary as they developed the implications of Theotokos, the new Eve, and heavenly intercession. Eastern homilies and hymns call her Lady, Queen, and mistress in a vocabulary of honor directed toward the Mother of the Lord. Exact dating and authorship of particular texts require criticism, but the broad liturgical current precedes modern papal teaching.

Medieval Western antiphons—Salve Regina, Regina caeli, Ave Regina caelorum, and Alma Redemptoris Mater—made queenship part of daily prayer. The language is poetic and petitionary, not a constitutional chart of heavenly offices. It joins Mary's glory to mercy, exile, Easter joy, intercession, and the fruit of her womb.

Scholastic theology explained royal dignity through divine motherhood, fullness of grace, association with Christ's victory, and the saints' participation in his reign. Some courtly expressions reflect their eras and need purification from images of arbitrary power. The enduring core is evangelical: the greatest creature is the humble servant most perfectly conformed to the crucified King.

Ad caeli reginam

In 1954 Venerable Pius XII issued Ad caeli reginam after surveying Scripture, Fathers, liturgies, popes, theologians, and Christian art. He taught that Mary's royal dignity rests principally on divine motherhood and also on her association with the new Adam's redemptive work. The encyclical presents queenship as maternal and intercessory, never as equality with God.[6]

Pius instituted the liturgical feast of Mary's Queenship, initially on 31 May. The postconciliar calendar transferred it to 22 August, the octave day of the Assumption, making its theological relation to bodily glorification more visible. A change of date is liturgical discipline, not a withdrawal of the doctrine or the earlier magisterial teaching.[7]

The encyclical arose in a Marian year and in a world marked by war, persecution, and nuclear fear. Its prayers for peace and protection belong to that historical setting while expressing a permanent conviction about intercession. Catholic reception should preserve both doctrinal substance and context rather than turning every rhetorical sentence into a separate dogmatic definition.

Maternal intercession

Mary intercedes because the saints live in Christ and charity does not end at death. Her maternal relation to Jesus and to his members gives a distinctive form to that prayer, but its efficacy comes from God's grace. She knows and presents petitions only within the beatific communion God grants; she is not omniscient by nature or a rival providence distributing blessings independently.

Christ's unique mediation is not one member of a competitive class. Created intercession participates in it as prayer, ministry, and charity participate in his one saving action. Asking Mary to pray resembles asking fellow Christians, raised to an eschatological perfection and maternal eminence, without bypassing direct prayer to God. Every granted grace comes from the Trinity through Christ.[8]

Royal language such as command or power must be interpreted analogically and within obedience. Sound prayer asks Mary's help confidently while recognizing that she wills what God wills. Formulae that appear to oppose a merciful mother to a reluctant Son distort both. The crucified Christ is mercy's source, and Mary's intercession is one radiant exercise of his gift.

Liturgy and devotion

The Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary is observed on 22 August in the General Roman Calendar when higher precedence does not intervene. Its Mass and Office interpret queenship through service, motherhood, intercession, and participation in Christ's glory. Proper calendars and Eastern Catholic traditions celebrate related titles on their own dates and with their own ranks.[9]

Regina caeli is the Easter-season antiphon rejoicing that the one Mary bore has risen. Salve Regina accompanies pilgrimage through exile toward Jesus and asks her prayer. The fifth glorious mystery of the Rosary contemplates Mary's coronation and the glory of all saints. None of these devotions adds a new mediator beside Christ; each should lead into Scripture, liturgy, sacraments, and charity.[10]

Churches, dioceses, nations, institutes, and associations may take Mary Queen as patroness. Crowning images is a devotional rite honoring the person represented, not transferring civil sovereignty to a statue. Ecclesiastical approval governs public rites, while private enthusiasm cannot guarantee historical claims, political programs, or promises attached to an image.

Titles and iconography

Queen of Heaven, Queen of Angels, Queen of Apostles, Queen of Martyrs, Queen of Peace, and similar Litany titles praise different relations within the one communion of saints. They do not imply that Mary belongs to each class in the same manner: she is not an angel, ordained apostle, or martyr by blood. She is Queen in pre-eminent holiness and maternal association with their King.

Western coronation scenes commonly show Christ or the Trinity crowning Mary, surrounded by angels and saints. Eastern images may emphasize the enthroned Theotokos presenting Christ, the Platytera, or Dormition and glorification rather than the same coronation composition. Diversity of art can express one faith without making one visual convention mandatory.

A crown, stars, moon, scepter, blue mantle, or celestial court carries symbolic meaning shaped by Scripture and historical culture. Sacred art should avoid making Mary appear to be a fourth member of the Trinity or an autonomous goddess. The most successful images direct attention to Christ, the Cross, the Spirit, or the communion into which grace has brought her.

Not the pagan queen of heaven

Jeremiah condemns Israelites who offered sacrifice to a figure called the queen of heaven within idolatrous worship. That cult did not honor Mary, who had not yet been born, and Catholic doctrine condemns sacrifice or divine worship offered to any creature. Sharing an English title across radically different referents does not establish identity of deity, rite, or belief.

The same linguistic form can be used truly or falsely depending on its subject and meaning. Ancient rulers were called lord without making every Christian use of Lord a pagan borrowing; biblical persons bear names shared outside Israel. Historical inquiry may study how royal feminine imagery circulated, but claims of direct continuity require evidence of transmission and doctrinal content rather than verbal resemblance.

Catholics offer the Eucharistic sacrifice to God alone. Marian feasts praise God for grace given to Mary and seek her intercession. If a practice treats her as a goddess, source of divinity, or power manipulated by offerings, it is not an advanced form of Catholic devotion but superstition or idolatry requiring correction.

Authority and theological limits

Mary's divine motherhood and Assumption are dogmas; Christ's kingship and the communion of saints belong to revealed faith. The synthesis that calls her Queen is authoritatively and consistently taught by the ordinary Magisterium and liturgy. Theological models of co-operation, royal office, and the scope of particular symbols carry differing weight and may be refined.

Queenship does not authorize maximalist formulas without limit. Any proposed title must preserve Christ's unique mediation, Mary's creaturehood, the sufficiency of public revelation, and the Church's judgment. Obedient Marian theology neither treats every devotional phrase as dogma nor assumes that caution is more faithful than the Church's actual teaching.

Historical claims about origins of antiphons, apparitions, coronations, or national patronage depend on evidence. Ecclesiastical approval of a devotion does not canonize every legend attached to it. The authority distinction protects queenship from both skeptical dismissal and pious inflation, allowing the faithful to confess strongly exactly what the Church teaches.

Ecumenical and pastoral questions

Eastern Christians richly honor the Theotokos in heavenly glory, although royal vocabulary, feast calendars, and later Latin magisterial texts differ. Many Protestants accept that Mary reigns with all saints but resist a distinctive queenship or invocation. Dialogue should begin from Christ's kingship, biblical participation, ancient Marian confession, and the precise distinction between worship and veneration.[11]

Catholic explanation should avoid saying merely that Mary is queen because believers choose to honor her. The title describes a real grace and relation established by God. It should equally avoid describing heavenly society as a second earthly court governed by patronage and favoritism. Biblical monarchy supplies analogy; the crucified and risen Christ transforms its meaning.

Pastorally, queenship calls the powerful to service and the faithful to hope. Mary's exaltation vindicates humble obedience and anticipates the destiny of the Church. Devotion bears fruit when it deepens worship of the Trinity, confidence in Christ, care for the vulnerable, and longing for holiness; it fails when reduced to aesthetic nostalgia, partisan identity, or competition over extravagant titles.

Theological basis

Queen of Heaven (Latin: Regina Caeli) is one of many queen titles used for Mary. The title derived in part from the ancient Catholic teaching that Mary, at the end of her earthly life, was bodily and spiritually assumed into heaven and that she is there honored as queen.[14]

Pius XII explained the theological reasons for her title of Queen in a radio message to Fatima of May 13, 1946, Bendito seja:

He, the Son of God, reflects on His heavenly Mother the glory, the majesty and the dominion of His kingship, for, having been associated to the King of Martyrs in the ... work of human Redemption as Mother and cooperator, she remains forever associated to Him, with a practically unlimited power, in the distribution of the graces which flow from the Redemption. Jesus is King throughout all eternity by nature and by right of conquest: through Him, with Him, and subordinate to Him, Mary is Queen by grace, by divine relationship, by right of conquest, and by singular choice [of the Father].[15]

In his 1954 encyclical Ad Caeli Reginam "To the Queen of Heaven", Pius XII asserts that Mary deserves the title because she is the Theotokos "mother of God", because she is closely associated as the New Eve with Jesus' redemptive work, because of her preeminent perfection and because of her intercessory power.[16] Ad caeli reginam states that the main principle on which the royal dignity of Mary rests is her divine motherhood, and thus John of Damascus wrote, "When she became Mother of the Creator, she truly became Queen of every creature."[17]

Biblical basis

In the Hebrew Bible some Davidic kings had in their court a gebirah ("Great Lady") who was often their mother, and held great power as his advisor and an advocate to him. In 1 Kings 2:20, Solomon said to his mother Bathsheba, seated on a throne at his right, "Make your request, Mother, for I will not refuse you." William G. Most sees here a sort of type of Mary.[18]

In the New Testament, the title has several biblical sources. At the Annunciation, the archangel Gabriel announces that [Jesus] "... will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David. He will rule over the house of Jacob forever and his reign will be without end."(Luke 1:32) The biblical precedent in ancient Israel is that the mother of the king becomes the queen mother.[19] Mary's queenship is a share in Jesus’ kingship.[16]

At the same time, the Bible also contains a strong condemnation of the worship of the so-called "queen of heaven" in the book of Jeremiah, where the prophet rebukes the people of Judah for making offerings and cakes to this figure (Jeremiah 7:18; 44:17–25). The passage portrays this practice as a form of idolatry that provoked the anger of God. Some critics of Marian devotion have pointed to this as a cautionary example of elevating a female figure to a divine status.

Historical practice

The Catholic Church from the earliest times venerated the Queen of Heaven, according to Pius XII:

From the earliest ages of the Catholic Church a Christian people, whether in time of triumph or more especially in time of crisis, has addressed prayers of petition and hymns of praise and veneration to the Queen of Heaven and never has that hope wavered which they placed in the Mother of the Divine King, Jesus Christ; nor has that faith ever failed by which we are taught that Mary, the Virgin Mother of God, reigns with a mother's solicitude over the entire world, just as she is crowned in heavenly blessedness with the glory of a Queen.[20]

In the first three centuries of Christianity, Mary's queenship was popularized by the Transitus literature, that, according to Stephen Shoemaker, has its origins before the Council of Nicaea.[21] Origen of Alexandria called Mary "my Lady", in his Hom VII in Lucam (PG 13:1902D), which is a royal title.

In the fourth century, Ephrem the Syrian called Mary "Lady" and "Queen". Later Church fathers and doctors continued to use the title. Similarly, Gregory of Nyssa in his Sermo de Annuntiatione (PG 62: 766) called her "Lady" (δέσποιναν). This title also appears in many other early writers, e.g., Jerome, and Peter Chrysologus. The first Mariological definition and basis for the title of Mary Queen of Heaven developed at the Council of Ephesus, where Mary was defined to be the Mother of God. The members of the Council specifically approved this version against the opinion, that Mary is "only" the mother of Jesus. Nobody, they ruled, had participated in the life of her son more than Mary, who gave birth to the Son of God.[22]

The word "Queen" is common during and after the sixth century.[18] Hymns of the 11th to 13th centuries address Mary as queen: "Hail, Holy Queen", "Hail, Queen of Heaven", "Queen of Heaven". The Dominican rosary and the Franciscan crown, as well as numerous invocations in Mary’s litany, celebrate her queenship.[16] For centuries she has been invoked as the Queen of Heaven.[23]

During the English Reformation, the title "Queen of Heaven", while eliminated from state-approved liturgy, became a symbol of resistance.[24]

Litany of Loreto

She is invoked in the Litany of Loreto as:

  • Queen of the Angels
  • Queen of Patriarchs
  • Queen of Prophets
  • Queen of Apostles
  • Queen of Martyrs
  • Queen of Confessors
  • Queen of Virgins
  • Queen of all Saints
  • Queen of Families[23]
  • Queen conceived without original sin
  • Queen assumed into Heaven
  • Queen of the Most Holy Rosary
  • Queen of Peace[25]

Other titles

The Second Vatican Council in 1964 referred to Mary as Queen of the Universe.[26]

Liturgy of the Hours

Three of the four ancient Marian antiphons of the Liturgy of the Hours (the Salve Regina, the Ave Regina caelorum, the Alma Redemptoris Mater, and the Regina Caeli), address Mary as queen. These are prayed at different times of the year, at the end of Compline.

Salve Regina

Mary as Queen of Heaven is praised in the Salve Regina ("Hail Queen"), which is considered the oldest of the four Marian antiphons and is sung in the time after Pentecost until the first Vespers of Advent. It is attributed to a German Benedictine monk, Hermann of Reichenau (1013–1054). Traditionally it has been sung in Latin, though many translations exist. In the Middle Ages, Salve Regina offices were held every Saturday.[27] In the 13th century, the custom developed to greet the Queen of Heaven with the Salve Regina As a part of the Catholic Reformation, the Salve Regina was prayed every Saturday by members of the Sodality of Our Lady, a Jesuit Marian association. The Hail Holy Queen is also the final prayer of the Rosary.

Ave Regina caelorum

The Ave Regina caelorum ("Hail, Queen of the Heavens") is an early Marian antiphon, praising Mary, the Queen of Heaven. The antiphon is traditionally used after Vespers or Compline, from the Feast of the Presentation (2 February) through the Wednesday of Holy Week. It is also sung in the Liturgy of the Hours on the feast of the Assumption of Mary (or ad libitum on other Marian feasts with reference to the Queenship of Mary). The Ave Regina caelorum dates back in a different musical intonation to the 12th century.[28] Today's version is slightly different from a 12th-century intonation. The Ave Regina caelorum has four parts: Ave, Salve, Gaude and Vale (in English: hail, rejoice, farewell). It was used for processions in honour of the Queen of Heaven. The Ave Regina caelorum received numerous musical versions, a famous one of which was composed in 1773 by Joseph Haydn.[29]

Regina Caeli

The Regina Caeli ("Queen of Heaven") is an anthem of the Catholic Church which replaces the Angelus during Eastertide, the fifty days from Easter Sunday to Pentecost.[30] It is named for its opening words in Latin. Of unknown authorship, the anthem has been traced back to the twelfth century. It was in Franciscan use, after Compline, in the first half of the thirteenth century.[31]

Different musical settings of the words were composed throughout the centuries by known and unknown composers. Not all attributions are correct, as an often quoted Regina Caeli by Joseph Haydn was not by him.[29]

Veneration

The small and simple young girl of Nazareth became Queen of the world! This is one of the marvels that reveal God’s Heart. Of course, Mary’s queenship is totally relative to Christ’s kingship. He is the Lord whom after the humiliation of death on the Cross the Father exalted above any other creature in Heaven and on earth and under the earth (cf. Phil 2: 9-11). Through a design of grace, the Immaculate Mother was fully associated with the mystery of the Son: in his Incarnation; in his earthly life, at first hidden at Nazareth and then manifested in the messianic ministry; in his Passion and death; and finally, in the glory of his Resurrection and Ascension into Heaven ... Benedict XVI.[32]

The Queenship of Mary is commemorated in the last of the Glorious Mysteries of the Holy Rosary—the Coronation of the Virgin as Queen of Heaven and Earth.[33]

Parishes and private groups often process and crown an image of Mary with flowers. This often is referred to as a "May Crowning". This rite may be done on solemnities and feasts of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or other festive days, and offers the Church a chance to reflect on Mary’s role in the history of salvation.[34]

The Virgin has been called "Queen of France" since 1638 when, partly in thanksgiving for a victory over the Huguenots and also in hope of the birth of an heir after years of childless marriage, Louis XIII officially gave her that title. Siena, Tuscany, hails the Virgin as Queen of Siena, and annually observes the race and pageant called the "palio" in her honor.[35]

Mary was declared "Queen of Poland" by king John II Casimir during the Lwów Oath in the 17th century. Since then she is believed to save the country miraculously during Deluge, Partitions of Poland, Polish-Soviet War, World War II and the Polish People's Republic. The solemnity of Our Lady Queen of Poland is celebrated on 3 May.[36][37]

Feast of Queenship of Mary

Queenship of Mary is a Marian feast day in the liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church, created by Pope Pius XII. On 11 October 1954, the pontiff pronounced the new feast in his encyclical Ad caeli reginam. The feast was celebrated on May 31, the last day of the Marian month. The initial ceremony for this feast involved the crowning of the Salus Populi Romani icon of Mary in Rome by Pius XII as part of a procession in Rome.[38]

In 1969, Pope Paul VI moved the feast day to August 22, the former Octave day of the Assumption[16] in order to emphasize the close bond between Mary's queenship and her glorification in body and soul next to her Son. The Second Vatican Council's Constitution on the Church states that "Mary was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory, and exalted by the Lord as Queen of the universe, that she might be the more fully conformed to her Son" (Lumen gentium, 59).[23]

The movement to officially recognise the Queenship of Mary was initially promoted by several Catholic Mariological congresses in Lyon, France; Freiburg, Germany; and Einsiedeln, Switzerland. Gabriel Roschini founded in Rome, Italy, an international society to promote the Queenship of Mary, Pro Regalitate Mariae.[39] Several popes had described Mary as Queen and Queen of Heaven, which was documented by Roschini. Pope Pius XII repeated the title in numerous encyclicals and apostolic letters, especially during World War II.[40]

Marian processions

In Los Angeles, California, a Marian procession took place annually for roughly the first 100 years following the founding of the city. In an attempt to revive the custom of religious processions, in September 2011 the Queen of Angels Foundation, founded by Mark Anchor Albert, inaugurated an annual "Grand Marian Procession" in the heart of Downtown Los Angeles' historic core.[41] This yearly procession, intended to coincide with the anniversary of the founding of the City of Los Angeles, begins outside of the parish of La Iglesia de Nuestra Señora Reina de los Angeles which is part of the Los Angeles Plaza Historic District, better known as "La Placita". By way of city streets, the procession eventually terminates at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels where a public Rosary and Mass in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary are offered. Subsequent years have seen the involvement and participation of numerous chivalric, fraternal, and religious orders, parishes, lay groups, political figures, as well as other religious and civic organizations.[42]

Christian art

Early Christian art shows Mary in an elevated position. She carries her divine son in her hands, or holds him. The earliest known Roman depiction of Santa Maria Regina depicting Mary as a queen dates to the 6th century and is found in the modest church of Santa Maria Antiqua built in the 5th century in the Forum Romanum. Here Mary is unequivocally depicted as an empress.[43][44][45] As one of the earliest Catholic Marian churches, this church was used by Pope John VII in the early 8th century as the see of the bishop of Rome. Also in the 8th century, the Second Council of Nicaea decreed that such pictures of Mary should be venerated.[22]

Evangelical Lutheranism holds Mary in high esteem churches and Lutheran art has been made in her honour. The façade of Saint Mary's Church in Berlin is "crowned by a wooden sculpture of the Virgin with child, standing on a half moon, with crown and sceptre, thus depicting Mary as Regina Coeli, as Queen of Heaven."[46]

In contrast, in the early 16th century, Reformed leaders began to discourage Marian art, and some like Calvin or Zwingli even encouraged its destruction. But after the Council of Trent in the mid-16th century confirmed the veneration of Marian paintings for Catholics, Mary was often painted as a Madonna with crown, surrounded by stars, standing on top of the world or the partly visible moon. These depictions occur in Evangelical Lutheranism as well, as with Saint Mary's Church in Berlin. After the victory against the Turks at Lepanto, Mary is depicted as the Queen of Victory, sometimes wearing the crown of the Habsburg empire.[47] National interpretations existed in France as well, where Jean Fouquet painted the Queen of Heaven in 1450 with the face of the mistress of King Charles VII.[48] Statues and pictures of Mary were crowned by kings in Poland, France, Bavaria, Hungary and Austria,[48] sometimes apparently using crowns previously worn by earthly monarchs. A surviving small crown presented by Margaret of York seems to have been that worn by her at her wedding to Charles the Bold in 1463. A recent coronation was that of the picture of the Salus Populi Romani in 1954 by Pius XII. The veneration of Mary as queen continues into the 21st century, but artistic expressions do not have the leading role as in previous times.[48]

Artworks, including paintings, mosaics and carvings of the coronation of Mary as Queen of Heaven, became increasingly popular from the 13th century onward. Works follow a set pattern, showing Mary kneeling in the heavenly court, and being crowned either by Jesus alone, or else by Jesus and God the Father together, with the Holy Spirit, usually in the form of a dove, completing the Trinity. The Coronation of Mary is almost entirely a theme of Western Christian art. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, although Mary is often shown wearing a crown, the coronation itself never became an accepted artistic subject.[14]

Paintings

Statues

Frescoes

Altars

References

  1. 1.The New American Bible — Canonical biblical texts concerning the Incarnation, the Mother of God, Mary's virginity and grace, Christ's kingdom, the woman and dragon, and the Davidic queen mother
  2. 2.Second Vatican Council, Dei Verbum — Jesus Christ as the fullness of revelation, the historicity and apostolic origin of the Gospels, Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition, and canonical interpretation
  3. 3.Catechism of the Catholic Church, 484–511 and 963–975 — The virgin conception, divine motherhood, perpetual virginity, holiness of Mary, and her wholly dependent maternal place in Christ and the Church
  4. 4.Catechism of the Catholic Church, 946–975 — The communion of saints, Mary as Mother of Christ and Mother of the Church, her Assumption, intercession, and eschatological place
  5. 5.Saint Paul VI, Credo of the People of God — Authoritative profession of the Incarnation, hypostatic union, virgin conception, perpetual virginity, Immaculate Conception, Assumption, and maternal intercession
  6. 6.Saint John Paul II, Mulieris dignitatem — The Incarnation, Mary's free consent and divine motherhood, virginity and motherhood, woman and man, covenant, and Christian vocation
  7. 7.Venerable Pius XII, Ad caeli reginam — The scriptural, patristic, liturgical, and theological grounds of Mary's queenship and the institution of its liturgical feast
  8. 8.Saint John Paul II, Redemptoris Mater — Mary's pilgrimage of faith, divine motherhood, virginity, presence in the mystery of Christ and the Church, maternal mediation, and eschatological glory
  9. 9.Second Vatican Council, Lumen gentium, chapter VIII — The Blessed Virgin Mother of God in the mystery of Christ and the Church, her faith, holiness, motherhood, Assumption, queenship, intercession, and veneration
  10. 10.Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy — Pastoral norms for Marian feasts, titles, images, devotions, the Angelus, the Rosary, the Immaculate Conception, and the Queenship of Mary
  11. 11.Saint Paul VI, Marialis cultus — Biblical, liturgical, Trinitarian, Christological, ecclesial, and ecumenical norms for sound Marian doctrine, celebration, and devotion
  12. 12."Lyngsjö kyrka". 5 July 2023.; Karkan, Betsy. "Luther’s Love for St. Mary, Queen of Heaven", LutheranReformation.org; "On The Virgin Mary". The Anglican Catholic Church. Archived from the original on 2018-03-30. Retrieved 2018-03-30.; Greenacre, Roger (2013). Maiden, Mother and Queen: Mary in the Anglican Tradition. Hymns Ancient and Modern Ltd. p. 14. ISBN 9781848252783. Retrieved 20 August 2018.; Alchin, A.M., "Mary, Virgin and Mother: An Anglican Approach", Marian Library Studies, vol.1, article 7, 1969; "The Virgin Mary, Our Lady, Queen of Heaven…". The Episcopal Church. Archived from the original on 2018-03-30. Retrieved 2018-03-30.
  13. 13.Pope Pius XII, Ad Caeli Reginam, 11 October 1954, Dicastero per la Comunicazione
  14. 14.[14.2]Otto, John, ed. (1985). Dictionary of Mary. New York: Catholic Book Publishing Co. pp. 283–284.
  15. 15.Acta Apostolicae Sedis 38. 266
  16. 16.[16.2][16.3][16.4]Foley, Leonard. Saint of the Day, Lives, Lessons, and Feast, Franciscan Media ISBN 978-0-86716-887-7
  17. 17.Ad Caeli Reginam, §34.
  18. 18.[18.2]Most, William G. "Mary's Queenship", Our Lady in Doctrine and Devotion, 1994
  19. 19.Taylor Marshall, The Crucified Rabbi: Judaism and the Origins of Catholic Christianity, Saint John Press, 2009 ISBN 978-0-578-03834-6 page 41
  20. 20.Ad Caeli Reginam, §1.
  21. 21.Shoemaker, Stephen (2016). Mary in Early Christian Faith and Devotion. Yale University Press. p. 24.
  22. 22.[22.2]Fastenrath & Tschochner 1991, p. 590.
  23. 23.[23.2][23.3]"On the Queenship of Mary". ZENIT - English. 2012-08-22. Retrieved 2021-09-14.
  24. 24.Grindlay, Lilla. Queen of Heaven, Notre Dame Press. 2018 ISBN 9780268104092
  25. 25.Pope Paul VI, "Christi Matris", §8, September 15, 1966
  26. 26.Lumen gentium, Chapter 8, Section 59.
  27. 27.Marienlexikon, 648
  28. 28.C Bernt Marienlexikon 321
  29. 29.[29.2]Haydn, in Marienlexikon, 88
  30. 30.Normae universales de anno liturgico et de calendario, 22
  31. 31.Henry, Hugh. "Regina Coeli (Queen of Heaven)." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 12. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 21 August 2023
  32. 32."Celebrating Mary’s Queenship of Heaven and Earth", The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, August 22, 2020
  33. 33."Glorious Mysteries", Vatican
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  35. 35."The Queenship of Mary", Queen of Angels foundation
  36. 36.Brockhaus, Hannah. "Polish parliament recognizes coronation of Mary as nation's queen", Catholic News Agency, January 18, 2017
  37. 37.""Spokesman of the Polish Episcopate: Mary wanted to be called the Queen of Poland", Polish Bishops' Conference, March 5, 2019". Archived from the original on May 3, 2019. Retrieved May 3, 2019.
  38. 38."Religion: The Queenship of Mary". Time, November 8, 1954.
  39. 39.Fastenrath & Tschochner 1991, p. 591.
  40. 40.AAS 1942, 126,; AAS 1942 315,; AAS 1943, 248,; AAS 1943 38,; AAS 1946,266,; AAS 1950, 763,
  41. 41.Dellinger, Robert. "2011 ‘Grand Procession’ revives founding of L.A. Marian devotion", The TidingsOnline, September 6, 2011
  42. 42.Hoffarth, Tom. "This year's Grand Marian Procession marks a time of celebration". Angelus News, August 31, 2018.
  43. 43.Erik Thunø, 2003 Image and relic: mediating the sacred in early medieval Rome ISBN 88-8265-217-3 page 34
  44. 44.Bissera V. Pentcheva, 2006 Icons and power: the Mother of God in Byzantium ISBN 0-271-02551-4 page 21
  45. 45.Anne J. Duggan, 2008 Queens and queenship in medieval Europe ISBN 0-85115-881-1 page 175
  46. 46.Spicer, Andrew (5 December 2016). Lutheran Churches in Early Modern Europe. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-351-92116-9. Portrayals of the Virgin in three such prominent places may not be surprising for a church dedicated to Mary; however, in a Protestant context they once again draw atetntion to the fact that Lutheranism still gave the mother of Christ a prominent place; in both its services (Marian feasts that could be interpreted in a Christological way were celebrated until the eighteenth century), and in its religious art. Furthermore these sculptures were a material reminder of the high esteem and place held by the Virgin Mary in church music; the Magnificat; the Song of Mary, for instance, was still held in high regard in the Lutheran church.
  47. 47.Fastenrath & Tschochner 1991, p. 595.
  48. 48.[48.2][48.3]Fastenrath & Tschochner 1991, p. 596.