The Queenship of Mary: Five facts

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Mary is Queen because she is the Mother of God. Mary is Queen because her Son, being the Son of God, is full of glory and majesty; He is king, much more so than David, for His reign shall have no end (Lk 1:32-33). Saint Gregory of Nazianzus called Mary "Mother of the King of the whole universe," "Mother Virgin, (who) gave birth to the King of the whole world"[1]. And Saint Alphonsus Liguori said: "Since the Blessed Virgin has been raised to the high dignity of Mother of God, the Church has rightly given her the title of Queen."

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Mary is Queen because she is victorious over sin (dogma of the Immaculate Conception) and because she is victorious over death (dogma of the Assumption): "The Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all guilt of original sin, on the completion of her earthly sojourn, 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, the Lord of lords and the conqueror of sin and death."(Vatican II, Lumen gentium 59).

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Mary is Queen because she cooperated in our redemption and became our mother in the order of grace. Mary is Queen in the way that Jesus is King, without military conquest: His kingdom "is not of this world" and "Whoever is of the truth hears His voice"(Jn 18:36-37). He is a crucified and risen king. "The Blessed Virgin is also our Queen and Sovereign because of the unique way in which she contributed to our Redemption, by giving her flesh to her Son and offering Him willingly for us, desiring, asking for and procuring our salvation in a very special way"[3].

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In the book of Revelation, in which Jesus is unceasingly referred to as the Lamb, it is said that, before the end of the world, Jesus will appear as King of kings at the time of the fall of Babylon (Rev 17:14 and Rev 19:16). This provides us with another way of looking at Mary's queenship, in the light of the return of Christ. Her queenship is a corollary of her spiritual motherhood towards us. This perspective was suggested when, in 1954, Pope Pius XII instituted the feast of the Queenship of Queen, and also ordered that, "on that day, the consecration of the human race to the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary be renewed. Therein lies the great hope of seeing the dawn of an era of happiness in which Christian peace and the triumph of religion will reign" [4].

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Finally, Mary is Queen because judgment has been given to the Son (Jn 5:22) and her Son will return in glory for the final judgment (Mt 25). Tradition therefore thinks that Mary will have the role of mediatrix of clemency [5].

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[1] St Gregory Nazenzien, Poemata dogmatica, XVIII, v. 58: P. G. XXXVII, 485.

[2] St Alphonsus Liguori, The Glories of Mary, p. I, c. I, I

[3] Pius XII, Encyclical Ad Cœli Reginam, on the Queenship of Mary, October 11, 1954, § 24 and 25.

[4] Pius XII, Encyclical Ad Cœli Reginam, on the Queenship of Mary, October 11, 1954, § 34.

Christ is King, therefore, when we celebrate Christ the King, we renew the consecration of the human race to the Sacred Heart of Jesus" (Pius XI, Quas primas 19). In the same way, because Mary is Queen, we consecrate the human race to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

[5] Encyclical Letter Redemptoris Mater 41, March 25, 1987.

By F. Breynaert