On August 22, the Church celebrates the Divine Queenship of Mary. Mary receives this title at the Annunciation when the angel Gabriel says to Mary, “the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David” (Luke 1:32). Since Jesus is the Divine King that reigns on the throne of David, Mary is the Queen who reigns alongside Him. Just as mothers had influence in the king’s court in the Old Testament, so too does Mary have influence in Jesus’ Kingship.

The Queenship of Mary takes place in an octave – that is eight days –  after the feast of the Assumption. The feast was established by Pope Pius XII in 1954.  In his encyclical announcing the feast, Pope Pius XII said:

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. … 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.

Mary, Queen of Heaven and Earth, pray for us.