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Crowning of the Virgin Mary

 

 

 

Left: A statue of the Mother of God, Help of the Faithful, crowned by Polish Cardinal Jozef Glemp, with the bishop Wroclaw, in 1995.

Right: Children carry flowers, crown in procession in Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, Poland, to honor Our Lady of Calvary, a revered image of the Madonna that was crowned with papal crowns on August 15, 1887.

Photos: The Madonnas of Europe - Pilgrimages to the Great Marian Shrines of Europe
(2000 Rosikon press - distr. Ignatius Press)

History of Crownings -- Mary the Crown of Creation -- A May Crowning -- Other Family Activities -- Mary Flowers

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Images of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Infant Jesus have been revered by Christians from ancient times. The reverence for the image is directed to the persons represented. Crowing a statue of the Lord's Mother is symbolic of the honor we give her as the one chosen by God to bear His Son, our Salvation.

During the Month of May -- a month both named for and dedicated to Mary -- Catholics have long honored her by placing a crown on her image. The tradition in the United States and many other countries has been for school children to have a "May Crowning" ceremony, with a procession, pretty dresses and a wreath of fresh flowers that one child gets to place on the statue. A song for these festivals, "Bring Flowers of the Fairest", with its refrain "O Mary, we crown thee with blossoms today, Queen of the Angels, Queen of the May..." has been a familiar favorite for generations.

In the photographs above, Jozef Cardinal Glemp, of Poland, crowns a statue, and Polish children "bring flowers of the fairest" to honor the Mother of Our Lord. In the foreword to the book, The Madonnas of Europe -- Pilgrimages to the Great Marian Shrines of Europe, in which these photos appear, Cardinal Glemp notes that "the Church recognizes in the Blessed Virgin Mary a perfect example of a Christian way of life, filled with deep faith and true love for all people.... [The Mother of God] will guide us and support us ... enabling us to meet and overcome the challenges of the times in which, through God's will, we live on this Earth."
(The book by Janusz Rosikon, was published in Polish in 1998, in English in 2000 is available from Ignatius Press.)

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History of Crownings

The offering of crowns to adorn images became common practice in the Eastern Churches. In itself it would mean no more than adding such additional splendor to the icon as might also be given by a handsome gold frame. Then the affixing of the crown naturally attracted to itself, like all things dedicated to the use of the Church, was blessed before it was affixed.

At Rome, too, a ceremony evolved out of this pious practice. A famous case is the coronation of the picture of our Lady in Saint Mary Major. Clement VIII (1592-1605) presented crowns (one for our Lord and one for His Mother, both of whom are represented in the picture) to adorn it; so also did succeeding popes. These crowns were lost and Gregory XVI (1831-46) determined to replace them.

On August 15, 1837, surrounded by cardinals and prelates, he brought crowns, blessed them with a prayer composed for the occasion, sprinkled them with holy water, and incensed them. The Regina Cæli having been sung, he affixed the crowns to the picture, saying the form -- "Sicuti per manus nostras coronaris in terris, ita a te gloria et honore coronari mereamur in cælis" -- for our Lord, and a similar form (per te a Jesu Christo Filio tuo...) for our Lady. There was another collect, the Te Deum, a last collect, and then High Mass coram Pontifice. The same day the pope issued a Brief (Cælestis Regina) about the rite. The crowns are to be kept by the canons of Saint Mary Major. The ceremonial used on that occasion became a standard for similar functions.

(Principal source - Catholic Encyclopedia - 1913 edition)

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Mary the Crown of Creation

In the Marian Year, 1987, the Holy See (Congregation for Divine Worship) issued a ritual for honoring images of Mary, Order of Crowning an Image of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It describes the honor of crowning as follows:

The queen symbol was attributed to Mary because she was a perfect follower of Christ, who is the absolute "crown" of creation. She is the Mother of the Son of God, who is the messianic King. Mary is the Mother of Christ, the Word Incarnate... "He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High; the Lord will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of His kingdom there will be no end" (Lk 1:32-33). Elizabeth greeted the Blessed Virgin, pregnant with Jesus, as "the mother of my Lord" (Lk 1:41-43). Mary is the perfect follower of Christ. The maid of Nazareth consented to God's plan; she journeyed on the pilgrimage of faith; she listened to God's Word and kept it in her heart; she remained steadfastly in close union with her Son, all the way to the foot of the Cross; she persevered in prayer with the Church. Thus, in an eminent way she won the "crown of righteousness" (II Tim 4:8), the "crown of life" (Jas 1:12; Rev 2:10), the "crown of glory" (I Pet 5:4) that is promised to those who follow Christ.

-- Order of Crowning an Image of the Blessed Virgin Mary, NCCB, 1987
USCCB publications (www.usccb.org/publishing/liturgy/mary.htm)

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A May Crowning

British writer Joanna Bogle writes of her childhood memory of May Crowning, which seems to imply that the practice, still customary in Catholic parishes and schools in the United States, is disappearing in Great Britain. The following is from A Book of Feasts and Seasons, by Joanna Bogle.

A crowning of a statue of Mary, and a procession in her honor were very popular in parishes in Britain and the USA in the 1950s and could easily be revived. By tradition, blue is Mary's color. At my Surrey convent school the girls taking part in the crowning ceremonies -- usually the year's First Communicants -- wore white veils edged with blue. The crown was carried on a cushion by the youngest girl in the school, and placed on the head of the statue by the oldest.

In its simplest form, the May crowning involves putting a statue of Mary on a pedestal, singing some hymns, and placing a garland of flowers on her head. Other floral tributes are then laid at her feet, and the shrine is kept going all May with fresh flowers.

The flower we call "May" is hawthorn blossom but it is only one of many flowers that bloom in this month. For a crowning ceremony, little girls wear their best dresses and garlands of flowers round their heads and carry posies or baskets of flowers. A boy carries the crown on a cushion to Mary's statue, and the oldest girl taking part does the actual crowning. The other children then troop up and stack their posies around the shrine.

Laying flowers before Mary's statue is deeply embedded in Christian tradition: some Catholic brides used to lay their wedding bouquets before a shrine of Mary after the wedding ceremony, and pray there for a blessing on their marriage.

Joanna Bogle is a Catholic writer and journalist living in London. She is a member of Women for Faith & Family editorial board. She broadcasts with the BBC and with EWTN radio, on which she has a "Catholic Heritage" series featuring places of pilgrimage and of historic interest in Europe.

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For suggestions about flowers for the May crowning or other Marian feast, see Mary's Flowers

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Other Family Activities for May

Family May Crowning
Plan a May Crowning with the family. Have a Blessed Mother statute in a place of honor. Children will want to make a crown and have a procession with flowers. Be creative!

May Baskets
A lovely old tradition for May Day is making May Baskets. Traditionally, homemade paper baskets filled with flowers and candy would be left anonymously on doorsteps of friends or neighbors on the first day of May. School children in America used to do this every year, but the custom has nearly disappeared.

With a few modifications, this practice could be revived -- in your family or classroom. Each child in could select someone's name -- or the children could deliver baskets to neighbor children and elderly folks nearby.

Small baskets made from a cone of paper or a doily, with a strip of ribbon looped and stapled to the upper edge, make easy and inexpensive baskets. Besides flowers and candies, the surprises inside could include a spiritual bouquet of prayers said for that person, for example a note saying "a Rosary was said for you today" -- especially for an older person like a grandparent. You may want to add a prayer card (to order Angelus prayer cards see order page).

Pray the Hail Mary - You may want to have the children color a picture of Mary to hang in their rooms or on the refrigerator to be the reminder to pray. See Mary Coloring Page, with Hail Mary prayer

Pray the Rosary - May is a great time to teach children the Rosary. See Rosary Page.
If your family does not have time to pray the Rosary together each day you may want to pray one decade before dinner.

Pray the Angelus - Don't forget to say the Angelus before dinner during Mary's month. Get prayer cards for every member of the family.

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