Catholics hold Mary in a unique place as Mother of God and Mother of the Church. Throughout the ages, more poems, hymns, statues, icons and paintings have been produced on Mary than any other woman in human history. Parishes and families often celebrate with special pilgrimages, devotions, or placing a crown on a statue of Mary, traditionally called a “May Crowning”.

May devotions to Mary began in the 13th century, but there is little information to know how it was celebrated. In its present form, the practice of May devotions to Mary originated within the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) in the 18th century under Father Latomia of their Roman College. Shortly afterwards, devotions were adopted at the Jesuit’s mother church in Rome, the Church of the Gesù, and then began to spread throughout other area churches to the entire globe.

The image of Mary wearing a gold crown appears in early Eastern and Western iconography, drawing inspiration from the Coronation of Mary as understood in Catholic biblical tradition based on the passage from Revelation 12:1.

One reason the devotion has come to extend over the entire month is the abundance of Marian feast days in May: Mary Queen of Apostles (Saturday before Pentecost – 14 May, this year), Our Lady of Fatima (13 May), Mary Help of Christians (24 May), and the Visitation (31 May).

Louise East  - Religious Studies Coordinator