The feast of the Queenship of Mary was established by Pope Pius XII in 1954. From the fifth century onwards, Mary was being honoured as “Queen” – St. Ephrem being one of the first to address her under this title. At a later period, invocations and hymns such as “Hail, Queen of Heaven,” “Hail, Holy Queen,” “Queen of Heaven,”etc. were very much in vogue. Further, this title was incorporated into the Litany of Loreto as well. Pope Pius XII, in his Encyclical “To the Queen of heaven,” declared that Mary richly deserved this title due to her Divine Maternity, her close co-operation with the Redeemer, her pre-eminent holiness and her intercessory power.
The Nicene Creed, which was framed in 325, is a resume of the basic tenets of Christianity. We recite it every Sunday. It highlights Mary’s role and cooperation in the drama of Redemption, “Born of the Virgin Mary.” In 431 the Council of Ephesus bestowed on Mary the title “Mother of God.” If Mary is the Mother of the Word-made-flesh and the Word-made-flesh is God, obviously Mary is the Mother of God. Now, if this Word-incarnate is King, then his mother Mary is Queen Mother. In the Judaic history, the mother of King David was Queen Mother. When King David, Solomon and some of their successors had several wives due to human weakness and political motives, none of these could fittingly be called queen. That honour was reserved for the mother of the King, whose authority in the court and in the kingdom was almost absolute.
Reflection. The fact that Mary combines in herself the two-fold role of mother and queen reassures us that as mother she loves us tenderly and that as queen she supports us effectively. A loving mother without queenly power or a powerful queen with out a maternal love may not mean much. But a Queen-Mother is almost “omnipotent” in her intercessory power.
Quotations. 1) “You will bear a child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus…The Lord god will give him the throne of his father David…his kingdom will never end.” (Lk.1: 31-33)
2) “But why am I so favoured, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (Lk. 1: 43)
