Queen of Peace, Pray for Us: A Historical Perspective

Compiled by Dr Celcio Dias –

Pope Benedict XV called the First World War as the ‘suicide’ of Europe. After diplomatic efforts were exhausted, he called for the children of the world and especially of the warring nations to unite in prayer and to receive Holy Communion on the 30th of July, which was the second anniversary of the declaration of war; in Reparation for the crimes of men and in Supplication for Peace.

In a letter dated 5th May 1917, he ordered the invocation: Queen of Peace, Pray For Us! to be inserted universally into the Litany of Loreto. Just eight days later, the Most Holy Virgin, Queen of Peace, appeared to the three shepherd children in Fatima to help save the world from terrible wars and persecutions wrought by mankind’s sinfulness. Peace is a blessing of Christ and does not come from the world, to pursue peace entails suffering and persecution (Matthew 10:34-39).

Mary brought forth the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:5). It is peace of heart that puts anxiety and fear to flight, since it is the fruit of the complete teaching brought us by the Holy Spirit and partakes of the joy of heavenly hope (John 14:26-28).

Pope Pius XII, in 1954 instituted the liturgical Feast of Queenship of Mary and issued the Encyclical Ad Caeli Reginam (“To the Queen of Heaven”): The Blessed Virgin Mary should be called Queen, not only because of Her Divine Motherhood, but also because God has willed Her to have an exceptional role in the work of our eternal salvation.

The royalty of Mary is a participation in the royal dignity of Jesus Christ, but in a limited and analogical way. It includes:

(1) A pre-eminence, of primary of excellence, because the Blessed Virgin “surpasses in dignity all creation.” according to the words of St. Germanus (d. 733).

(2) A royal power, which authorizes Her to distribute the fruits of the Redemption.

(3) An inexhaustible efficacy of intercession with Her Son and the Father: She pleads strongly for us with a Mother’s prayers, and what She seeks She finds, nor can She ask in vain.

On March 21, 1981, the Church gave us a new rite for crowning an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary. She deserves to be Queen because She is:

(1) The Mother of the Son of God and the Messianic King;

(2) The loving Associate of the Redeemer;

(3) The perfect follower (or disciple) of Christ and

(4) The most excellent member of the Church.

Mary’s Queenship in our Time:

1. Mary is Queen because in Her earthly life, She fulfilled through Christ’s Grace a mission that She continues to carry out even more in heaven – a mission that has three aspects:

(a) Mary conquered the powers of evil from the first moment of conception. She was never under bondage to sin and always gave God’s message Her total consent. By Her Assumption, She already shares in Christ’s victory even over the last enemy, death (see 1 Corinthians 15:26), and with Christ, She works continually for the world’s deliverance from sin.

(b) Mary understood Her life as a service, in which consists royalty, according to the Gospel (Luke 22:24-40). She did not construe Her Divine Motherhood as expression of sovereignty but declared Herself “servant of the Lord” (Luke 1:38), worshipping the one God and completely given to service for His plan of salvation as the perfect response to Lucifer’s cry of, “I will not serve.” Mary’s response to Elizabeth (Lk 1:46-55) – praise, humility, service and mercy – directly opposes that of Satan, who is proud, egotistical, filled with hatred and accusations, and seeks his own glory and autonomy. She faithfully obtained that ‘state of royal freedom’ proper to Christ’s disciples: to serve means to reign!’ (Encyclical Redemptoris Mater, no. 41).

(c) Mary accepted to render possible the realization of the Kingdom of God, welcoming the Angel’s message concerning the Davidic Messiah who would reign forever over the house of Jacob (Luke 1:32-33). She knew that the oracle of Nathan (2 Samuel 7:12-16), to which Luke’s text refers, envisaged above all the Messianic benefits of the religious order, such as peace, justice, piety and deliverance.

2. The Queenship of Mary should take on a deeper Gospel inspiration. The Kingship of Christ is not expressed by the domination, imposition and egoistic pursuits of a worldly kingship but in the rejection of violence and in the love and service of the truth, until the total call of giving of self (John 18:36-37). Mary is one who has inherited the Kingdom of God, because She shares in the power communicated by the Spirit for liberating the world from its evils (cures and conversions of life obtained at Marian Shrines attest to this) and for bringing people to Divine filiation and Christian maturity.
3. She asks us to renew the Covenant with Christ (John 2:5), intercedes for us with Her Son and exercises a universal Motherhood toward disciples beloved by Jesus (John 19:25-27).
4. The Queenship of Mary is opposite of oppression and servitude, because it means Her participation in a work that rouses hope and is expressive of a merciful and furthering love. The Faithful can find in Her the secret to their own royal identity as children of God and the model for giving the Lord an ever greater place in their lives.

Application to Us

The Second Vatican Council sets forth the requirements of the kingly office of the laity based on the royal dignity of the baptized:

(1) Sharing in Christ’s Kingdom;

(2) Conquering sin;

(3) Serving Christ in others to bring them to Him and

(4) Reigning by serving and

(5) showing concern for the spread of the Kingdom.

Mary is our model in all of these requirements. Her Queenship should inspire us to follow Her lead in a Queenship of service, as St John Paul II has so well indicated: “Mary is glorified as ‘Queen of the Universe.’ Our Lady, Queen of Peace Feast is usually celebrated on 22 September.

The Virgin Mary told Lucia: “Be not afraid, My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and your safe path to God”. She offers us Her Immaculate Heart as a sure refuge, while showing us how in these particular times, God has desired for the triumph to come through Her. In Fatima, She told St Jacinta, “Tell all the world that great Grace comes through the Immaculate Heart of Mary” and “that God has entrusted to the Immaculate Heart. The peace and conversion of the world!”.

Sister Lucia took very seriously that part of the Secret as revealed on 13 July 1917: By dedicating ourselves to the Immaculate Heart of Mary though the Communion of Eucharistic Reparation of the First Saturdays, wars, famines, and persecutions of the Church could be averted, besides obtaining the Grace of final perseverance. “Peace or war depends on [the Five First Saturdays] devotion along with the Consecration,” she wrote. Our Lady, Queen of Peace, Pray For Us!