"Ad cæli Reginam": Encyclical Letter of Pope Pius XII on the Queenship of Mary

From Ad cæli Reginam, diei 11 Octobris 1954

"From the documents of ancient Christianity, from the prayers of the liturgy, from the innate religious sense of the Christian people, from works of art, from all sides we gather witnesses which assert that the Virgin Mother of God excelleth in queenly dignity. And we have set forth the reasons which sacred theology deduces from the treasury of divine faith to confirm the same truth.

All these witnesses form a sort of chorus, proclaiming far and wide the supreme queenly honour granted to the Mother of God and man, who is above all created things and exalted over the choirs of Angels to reign in heaven.

Thus it is that after mature and thoughtful consideration we have been persuaded that great benefits would flow to the Church if, like a light that illumines more brightly when placed in its stand, this solidly proved truth were to shine out more clearly to all, and so, by Our Apostolic Authority, we decree and institute the feast of Mary, Queen, which is to be celebrated every year on the thirty-first day of May throughout the world."