Did You Know Today is the Day of “The rite of coronation”: Today we put a crown on the image of Our Lady in Our Homes

Today we celebrate the Blessed Virgin Mary Queen. The holiday was introduced by Pope Pius XII. 1954 as the crown of the celebration of the Marian Year and as a result of the efforts and proposals of numerous Mariological congresses.

Crown the image of the Virgin Mary that you have in your home or in your prayer group. This is the ancient practice of Christian churches in the East and West. Coronation is a form of reverence that is often shown to images of the Virgin Mary.

Especially since the end of the 16th century in the West, the practice of crowning images of the Virgin became general among the faithful, both among monks and among lay people.

“Veneration of images of the Blessed Virgin Mary is often manifested by adorning her head with a royal crown.

And when the image of the Holy Mother of God carries her divine Son in her arms, both heads are crowned.

The custom of presenting the Virgin Mary girded with a royal crown dates back to the time of the Council of Ephesus (431), both in the East and in the West.

Christian artists often painted the famous Mother of God sitting on a royal throne, adorned in royal regalia and surrounded by a court of angels and saints from heaven.

In these pictures, the divine Redeemer is often represented surrounding his Mother with a shining crown”.

That is why the people of God have countless images, of very diverse forms, with greater or lesser artistic value, which the shepherds crowned, recognizing the always motherly and always sweet-loving authority over that people.

And in many cases, it was the Supreme Pontiff himself who crowned them. This is how the world’s most famous paintings were honored.

How to crown the image or statue of the Virgin Mary that we have at home?

We will make a small crown that fits the head of a picture or statue of the Virgin Mary that we have in our home. The crown can be made of pearls, lace, fabric, flowers, metal, maybe an old crown?

It is important that the day is specially chosen for this act, and what better day than on the Queen’s holiday?

It can also be on the Lord’s or Our Lady’s day or on Saturday, which is traditionally dedicated to Mary.

The family or prayer group gathers, prays the rosary and prays the prayer of consecration to Jesus through the hands of Mary.

For the act of coronation, the image must be lit by a candle, a symbol of the presence of Christ who has promised his presence among those who gather in his name.

There should also be natural flowers in honor of our queen.

The act of coronation begins by making the sign of the cross and praying the Creed to ask the Virgin to preserve the Catholic faith in our homes and in all our countries.

A chant can be added, and then in silence everyone dedicates himself to the Virgin according to his personal devotion.
And then you can recite this prayer from the Hymn of the Akathistos:

I will sing a hymn to the Queen Mother
and joyfully come to celebrate her glory
joyfully singing her wonders
Oh Lady! Our language is not capable of glorifying You in a worthy way
because You, who gave birth to Christ the King, are
elevated above the Seraphim.
God protect you, Queen of the world!
Oh Mary! the queen of us all

Then the crown is placed on the head of the image of Mary, saying:

Holy Mary, Mother of God and ours, we crown you the Queen of our family (or our prayer group)!
At the end, the Holy Rosary is prayed and three Hail Marys will be added at the end as satisfaction for the insults caused to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.