To Our Lady

Our Blessed Mother has a very special place in the heart of the Church, so we offer many devotions to Mary, including the Rosary and the May crowning. In addition, Mary has appeared to many individuals over time, and we venerate her as she was revealed in her apparitions at Lourdes, and at Fatima, among many others.

May—The Month of Mary

Mary’s faith is the fulfilment of Israel’s faith…and the model of the Church’s faith, which has Christ, the incarnation of God's infinite love, as its center. How did Mary live this faith? She lived it out in the simplicity of the thousand daily tasks and worries of every mother, such as providing food, clothing, caring for the house.... It was precisely Our Lady’s normal life which served as the basis for the unique relationship and profound dialogue which unfolded between her and God, between her and her Son. Mary’s “yes”, already perfect from the start, grew until the hour of the Cross. There her motherhood opened to embrace every one of us, our lives, so as to guide us to her Son. Mary lived perpetually immersed in the mystery of God-made-man, as his first and perfect disciple, by contemplating all things in her heart in the light of the Holy Spirit, in order to understand and live out the will of God.

Pope Francis:  Audience 23 Oct 2013

The Annunciation

As the fall of man was a free act, so too the Redemption had to be free...What is called the Annunciation was actually God asking the free consent of a creature [Mary] to help him to be incorporated into humanity...As in the first garden Eve brought destruction, so in the garden of her womb, Mary would now bring redemption...there was a collaboration between a woman and the Spirit of Divine Love.

For prayers to Our Lady, check out the Marian Prayers & Devotions page.