The Marian month

Crowning the statue of Our Lady with flowers.

May belongs to Mary. Parishes, schools and families crown an image of Our Lady with flowers, usually on the first Sunday of the month or on her feast days, and pray the Rosary daily through May.

The Crowning Prayer

O Mary, we crown you with blossoms today,
Queen of the Angels, Queen of the May.

Accept this crown from your children,
and reign over this parish, this school, this house.

As these flowers fade,
let our love for your Son not fade,
but deepen through this month
and into the ordinary year that follows. Amen.

The Family Version

• Put a statue or picture of Our Lady somewhere visible for the month.
• Let the children bring flowers — garden, hedgerow or shop, it makes no difference.
• Pray a decade of the Rosary together on as many evenings as you can manage.
• Crown the image on 31 May, the Feast of the Visitation, and end the month with the Magnificat.

About This Custom

The devotion took its present shape in Italy in the eighteenth century and spread everywhere. It survives largely because children like it — which is not a trivial reason. The customs that last are the ones somebody looks forward to.