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Blessed Virgin Mary

Pope Francis offers Mass on the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe in St. Peter's Basilica on Dec. 12, 2020. | Vatican Media

Pope Francis: Like Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mothers Can Be Great Evangelizers Today

Aug 23, 2023

Our Lady of Guadalupe proclaimed the Gospel in “mother tongue,” Pope Francis said Wednesday in a message that highlighted the important role mothers play in passing on the faith to the next generation.

Mary. Artist Giovanni Battista Gaulli, Museu da Casa Brasileira. | Wikimedia Commons.

Why the Queenship of Mary matters

Aug 22, 2023

The Catholic Church annually celebrates the feast of the Queenship of Mary on Aug. 22. I would imagine that most people, upon hearing of this celebration, would think of it as something rather sweet and sentimental, a quaint devotion for grandmothers with a taste for saccharine spirituality.

Pope Francis smiles at pilgrims during his Wednesday general audience in the Vatican's Paul VI Hall on Aug. 9, 2023. | Daniel Ibanez/CNA

Pope Francis: Mary "never keeps us waiting"

Aug 9, 2023

Pope Francis said Wednesday he likes to invoke the Virgin Mary under the title of “Our Lady ‘in haste’” because she is always ready to swiftly intercede for her children’s requests.

Today, May 31, We Celebrate the Feast of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary

May 31, 2023

Assuming that the Annunciation and the Incarnation took place around the time of the vernal equinox, Mary left Nazareth at the end of March and went over the mountains to Hebron, south of Jerusalem, to wait upon her cousin Elizabeth. 

Pope Francis celebrates Mass in Gyumri, Armenia, June 25, 2016. | L'Osservatore Romano/CNA

Pope Francis Entrusts All Mothers to Blessed Virgin Mary on Mother’s Day

May 14, 2023

On Mother’s Day, Pope Francis entrusted all mothers, including those in heaven, to the Virgin Mary, the Mother of Jesus.

"God protected me and the Virgin Mary did not leave me": Survivor of Turkey Earthquake

Mar 1, 2023

Only a few hours after Bassel Habkouk, a young Lebanese Catholic and father of two, arrived for a visit in Turkey on Feb. 6, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck the country and nearby Syria.

Today, February 11: We Celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes

Feb 11, 2023

On Feb. 11, the Catholic Church celebrates the liturgical memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes, recalling a series of 18 appearances that the Blessed Virgin Mary made to a 14-year-old French peasant girl, Saint Bernadette Soubirous.

Today, Sunday, January 1, We Celebrate Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God

Jan 1, 2023

The title “Mother of God” goes back to the third or fourth century, but the Greek term Theotokos (“The God-bearer”) was officially consecrated as Catholic doctrine at the Council of Ephesus in 431, thus becoming the first Marian dogma. At the end of the Council of Ephesus, crowds of people marched through the streets shouting: “Praised be the Theotokos!”

Today, December 12, We Celebrate Our Lady of Guadalupe

Dec 12, 2022

In 1531 a "Lady from Heaven" appeared to Saint Juan Diego, a poor Indian from Tepeyac, a hill northwest of Mexico City. She identified herself as the Mother of the True God and instructed him to have the bishop build a church on the site. As a sign for the bishop, she left an image of herself imprinted miraculously on his tilma, a poor quality cactus-cloth. The tilma should have deteriorated within 20 years but shows no sign of decay after over 470 years. To this day it defies all scientific explanations of its origin.

Women from All over the World Pray the Rosary on Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception

Dec 9, 2022

On Dec. 8, the day the Church celebrates the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, thousands of women in different countries around the world gathered to pray the holy rosary for peace and for the defense of life.

Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Dec 8, 2022

"The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin."

Today, November 21, We Celebrate Feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Nov 21, 2022

The Feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, celebrated annually on November 21st, commemorates the presentation of the Blessed Virgin as a child by her parents in the Temple in Jerusalem.

Today, October 7, We Celebrate Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary

Oct 7, 2022

On October 7, the Roman Catholic Church celebrates the yearly feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. Known for several centuries by the alternate title of “Our Lady of Victory,” the feast day takes place in honor of a 16th century naval victory which secured Europe against Turkish invasion. 

Pope Francis met participants in the Syro-Malabar Youth Leaders Conference on 18 June 2022. Credit: Vatican Media

The Virgin Mary Teaches Us "to live eucharistically": Pope Francis

Jun 18, 2022

The Blessed Virgin Mary never allowed herself to be “paralyzed by pride or fear,” but she arose and went with haste to humbly offer a helping hand, the pope told young Catholics on Saturday.

Red Confidential/Shutterstock.

Catholic Bishop in Nigeria Directs “a more vigorous May devotion” to Mary for Peace

May 1, 2022

Bishop Emmanuel Adetoyese Badejo of Nigeria’s Oyo Diocese has directed the people of God under his pastoral care to “a more vigorous May devotion to the mother of Jesus” for an end to violent conflicts globally and in the West African nation.

Fr. Vincent Mrio addressing participants during the Friday, March 18 webinar organized by the Mariological Society of America. Credit:  Sr. Olga Massango

At Virtual Event, Tanzanian Priest Offers Insights into Mary as “icon of African women”

Mar 18, 2022

A Tanzanian Catholic Priest has, at a virtual event, offered insights into the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary as an “icon of African women.”

Pope Francis offers Mass for the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God in St. Peter's Basilica on January 1, 2022. © Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN/Vatican Pool

Let Us Place the New Year 2022 Under the Protection of Mary: Pope Francis

Jan 1, 2022

Pope Francis’ first public act of 2022 was to offer Mass for the Solemnity of Mary, Holy Mother of God.

Pope Francis gives the Angelus address on Dec. 19, 2021. Vatican Media.

Let’s Focus on Helping Others This Christmas: Pope Francis

Dec 19, 2021

A good way to get out of a negative mood is to help others, following the example of Mary, who went to help her pregnant cousin Elizabeth, Pope Francis said.

Pope Francis blesses a statue of the Immaculate Virgin Mary of the Miraculous Medal Nov. 11, 2020. Credit: Vatican Media. null

Mary Teaches us to Listen to “the voices of the forgotten”: Pope Francis in Message

Sep 8, 2021

He was addressing participants in the 25th International Mariological Marian Congress.

Pope Francis waves during his Angelus address at the Vatican July 25, 2021./ Vatican Media.

Pope Francis Invokes Intercession of Mary for Ongoing Regional Sisters in Africa Plenary

Aug 25, 2021

Pope Francis has sent his Apostolic blessings for the ongoing 18th Plenary Assembly of the Association of Consecrated Women in Eastern and Central Africa (ACWECA).