Q. Is there a formal liturgical rite for May crownings? Do these crownings need to be in May? Can this rite be used by a group of laypeople wishing to honor the Blessed Mother with a crown for May?
This question originally ran in the May 7, 2021 Register.
A. Thank you for your question, which is a fitting one as we begin the month of May with the popular devotion of May crownings throughout the diocese, our country, and the entire world.
The Catholic Church applauds the noble practice of the veneration of images of Christ, the Blessed Virgin Mary and the saints. God created us with a soul and a body. All of our knowledge begins in the senses, and so we learn through the use of sensible objects.
We need material things to perfect our minds and our hearts. We, of course, do not worship these images, but our prayer and devotion can be aided by these kinds of objects that are perceived by the senses. We recall that God himself entered the world as the Word made flesh, perceptible to the senses.
Jesus instituted the seven sacraments as channels of grace, which is the help that God gives us to respond to his call to become children of God. The sacraments are outward signs perceptible by the senses, which bestow a grace.
Images like a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary are examples of sacramentals, which are “sacred signs which bear a resemblance to the sacraments. They signify effects, particularly of a spiritual nature, which are obtained through the intercession of the Church” (CCC 1667).
The Church desires that we make use of images of the Blessed Mother. This is why churches have a statue of Mary in a prominent place. Mary was conceived without Original Sin, and lived in perfect harmony with God throughout her life. She is a perfect model of holiness, and statues of her help remind us of her holiness and her intercession for us.
To get to your specific question about the liturgical rite for May crowning we look to the Roman Ritual. The Roman Ritual is a collection of liturgical rites in the Catholic Church.
The crowning of the Blessed Mother described in the Roman Ritual is that of placing a precious, bejeweled gold or silver crown upon an image of Our Lady. This rite is envisioned as something happening only once or rarely, and carried out by a bishop or his representative.
There is no specific rite for the May crowning with which most of us are familiar as a popular devotion that is done every year in parishes, schools and homes, nor is there a specified time for this to take place. In the United States and other countries in the Northern Hemisphere, it is popular for this to take place in May, but in countries in the Southern Hemisphere, it often occurs in other months.
There is a lot of flexibility regarding the devotion, and it can be adapted to various circumstances depending on whether the crowning takes place in a parish, a school, or even in a family home. A possible form of a May crowning devotion would be for a statue of Mary to be fixed in an appropriate place, surrounded by flowers. Hymns to Mary may be sung; prayers recited; and the high point of the ceremony would include someone placing a crown of flowers on Mary’s head.
May crowning is a beautiful, pious practice that gives due honor to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Jesus himself loves his mother dearly. This devotion helps us, no matter what our age or background, foster a tenderhearted love for the Blessed Virgin Mary, as well.
This question was answered by a priest of the Diocese of Lincoln. Write to Ask the Register using our online form, or write to 3700 Sheridan Blvd., Suite 10, Lincoln NE 68506-6100. All questions are subject to editing. Editors decide which questions to publish. Personal questions cannot be answered. People with such questions are urged to take them to their nearest Catholic priest.
