The Blessed Virgin Mary is in a repeated occasions referred to in the Catholic Church as “Queen,” and often called the “Queen of Heaven and Earth.”
Why is it so?
Firstly, the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 966), states that “the Immaculate Virgin, who was preserved free from all stain of original sin, when the course of her earthly life was finished, was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory, and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things, so that she might be the more fully conformed to her Son, the Lord of lords and conqueror of sin and death” (CCC 966).
In this way, Mary is recognized as the Queen of heaven and earth, and August 22 was dedicated as a feast day to the queenship of Mary.
However, prior to that, Mary is called a queen because of an ancient tradition that dates back to the time of King David.
According to Colin B. Donovan who was a theologian said that “In the Old Testament monarchy, the Queen of the Davidic Kingdom was the Queen Mother. Because of some reasons, the king of state had many wives, and none of whom fittingly could be called Queen. That honor was only reserved for the mother of the King, whose authority surpassed farther the many ‘queens’ married to the king.
We even see this in the role Bathsheba played with respect to King Solomon and the occasions when the Queen Mother acted as regent on behalf of juvenile successors to the throne.”
There are also some references to the queen mother in the Old Testament, for instance in the Second Book of Kings (2kings 24:12), “Then King Jehoiakim, along with his advisers, nobles, and officials, and the queen mother, surrendered to the Babylonians”.
Then, the queen mother in the Davidic Kingdom would hear the pleas of the people and bring them to the king for consideration.
So, is this not exactly what the Virgin Mary is doing, as Queen of Heaven and Earth?
For the above reasons, the Church has always seen Mary as a queen seated next to her Son in Heaven. Furthermore, throughout the centuries Christian, art has highlighted this belief by putting a crown on Mary’s head both in Eastern iconography and in traditional Western art.
Over the years, a tradition a developed during the month of May to crown Mary with a wreath of flowers. And this is often done by First Communicants in many parishes and honors Mary throughout the month as our beloved Queen Mother.
The Regina Caeli (Queen of Heaven) which is a traditional prayer that is prayed by the Church specifically, during the Easter season recalls Mary’s queenship and asks for her powerful intercession.
Here’s the piece of the beautiful prayer
V. Oh Queen of Heaven, rejoice, alleluia.
R. For He whom you did merit to bear, alleluia.
V. Has risen, as he said, alleluia.
R. Pray for us to God, alleluia.
V. Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary, alleluia.
R. For the Lord has truly risen, alleluia.
Let us pray.
O God, who gave joy to the world through the resurrection of Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, grant we beseech Thee, that through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, His Mother, we may obtain the joys of everlasting life. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
