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"The Roman Pontiffs, favoring such types of popular devotion, have often crowned, either in their own persons, or through representatives, images of the Virgin Mother of God which were already outstanding by reason of public veneration."
This quote is from Pope Pius XII's proclamation making Mary the Queen of Heaven. Why does he refer to images of Mary being crowned? Because they have been. In the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City there is a statue of Mary known as Our Lady of Guadalupe or the Virgin of Guadalupe. These titles go back to the alleged appearance of Mary to Juan Diego in 1531. Diego became a saint for being the only witness to this appearance of Mary.
In 1895, Pope Leo III ordered a Canonical Coronation of this statue, crowning Mary as Queen of Mexico. Today, Wikipedia says that it is the most visited Catholic shrine in the world.
Are Papal Canonical Coronations a thing of the past? Not at all. Santiago, Cuba, is the seat of the Archbishop of Santiago, the Primate of Cuba. In the Basilica there there is an image of Mary that allegedly goes back to a miraculous event around 1600. In 1916, Pope Benedict XV declared the image the Patroness of Cuba. In case Benedict XV did not go far enough, Pope John Paul II corrected the error by making the image Queen of Cuba. During papal visit to Cuba, John Paul II made the image the patron saint of Cuba and crowned the image as Queen of Cuba. Addressing the crowd, the Pope said that the image is "Queen and Mother of all Cubans."
The coronation of representations of Mary are not limited to Spanish speaking countries. In Poland, a painting of Mary known as the Black Madonna received her first coronation by order of Pope Clement XI in 1717. Pope Pius X, now St. Pius X, ordered a new coronation for the painting in 1910 and Pope John Paul II, now St. John Paul II, ordered the painting crowned yet again in 2005. Pope Francis consecrated yet another crown for the Black Madonna in July of 2017.
What should we make of this? The Roman Catholic Church rejects democracy in church government. The RCC's defenders call it a non-hereditary monarchy, in other words an autocracy. The Bishops, especially the Pope, are supposed to know better than the people. Yet as Pius XII said in his proclamation, the whole point of the exercise is to acknowledge "popular devotion" and "public veneration." When it comes to bowing down to statues or paintings, fancy theology is out of order, just give the people what they want. Maybe the RCC should have asked what God wants.
Links
Pius XII on Mary Queen of Heaven Ad Caeli Reginam
Mary as Queen of Mexico Our Lady Of Guadalupe | A CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS | www.sancta.org
Mary as Queen of Cuba https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=10996
Mary as Queen of Poland Our Lady of Czestochowa is the tender queen of Poland, Pope says
This quote is from Pope Pius XII's proclamation making Mary the Queen of Heaven. Why does he refer to images of Mary being crowned? Because they have been. In the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City there is a statue of Mary known as Our Lady of Guadalupe or the Virgin of Guadalupe. These titles go back to the alleged appearance of Mary to Juan Diego in 1531. Diego became a saint for being the only witness to this appearance of Mary.
In 1895, Pope Leo III ordered a Canonical Coronation of this statue, crowning Mary as Queen of Mexico. Today, Wikipedia says that it is the most visited Catholic shrine in the world.
Are Papal Canonical Coronations a thing of the past? Not at all. Santiago, Cuba, is the seat of the Archbishop of Santiago, the Primate of Cuba. In the Basilica there there is an image of Mary that allegedly goes back to a miraculous event around 1600. In 1916, Pope Benedict XV declared the image the Patroness of Cuba. In case Benedict XV did not go far enough, Pope John Paul II corrected the error by making the image Queen of Cuba. During papal visit to Cuba, John Paul II made the image the patron saint of Cuba and crowned the image as Queen of Cuba. Addressing the crowd, the Pope said that the image is "Queen and Mother of all Cubans."
The coronation of representations of Mary are not limited to Spanish speaking countries. In Poland, a painting of Mary known as the Black Madonna received her first coronation by order of Pope Clement XI in 1717. Pope Pius X, now St. Pius X, ordered a new coronation for the painting in 1910 and Pope John Paul II, now St. John Paul II, ordered the painting crowned yet again in 2005. Pope Francis consecrated yet another crown for the Black Madonna in July of 2017.
What should we make of this? The Roman Catholic Church rejects democracy in church government. The RCC's defenders call it a non-hereditary monarchy, in other words an autocracy. The Bishops, especially the Pope, are supposed to know better than the people. Yet as Pius XII said in his proclamation, the whole point of the exercise is to acknowledge "popular devotion" and "public veneration." When it comes to bowing down to statues or paintings, fancy theology is out of order, just give the people what they want. Maybe the RCC should have asked what God wants.
Links
Pius XII on Mary Queen of Heaven Ad Caeli Reginam
Mary as Queen of Mexico Our Lady Of Guadalupe | A CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS | www.sancta.org
Mary as Queen of Cuba https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=10996
Mary as Queen of Poland Our Lady of Czestochowa is the tender queen of Poland, Pope says