May 7 – Our Lady of Monticino (Italy, 1776) A statue of Mary miraculously finished! In the 11 th century, a certain Guerlenc, Count of Corbeil (Parisian region) tried to seize abbatial property, then fell

of Bavaria (Germany) Pope institutes Memorial of Mary, Mother of the Church Pope Francis has decreed that the ancient devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, under the title of Mother of the Church, be inserted [...] Pope Saint Leo the Great both reflected on the Virgin Mary’s importance in the mystery of Christ. “In fact the former [St Augustine] says that Mary is the mother of the members of Christ, because with charity [...] Leo the Great] says that the birth of the Head is also the birth of the body, thus indicating that Mary is at once Mother of Christ, the Son of God, and mother of the members of his Mystical Body, which

of the Woods (Italy, 1607) Let a statue of Mary be honored in every church Priests and faithful are at times surprised to not see a statue of the Virgin Mary in some churches – these are rare, thankfully [...] continue a long tradition of the Latin Church. We know that the Orthodox venerate the image of the Virgin Mary… I also wish that, in all the churches, a statue of the Blessed Virgin would be worthily honored with [...] with flowers, especially in the months of May and October. God always gives us Jesus through Mary—to pray to her is to get closer to her Son. Cardinal Alexandre Renard, Archbishop of Lyon, France, from

April 10 – Our Lady of Laval (France) Mary was the "only woman" in Carlo's life Carlo Acutis (1991-2006) is a young Italian saint who died at the age of 15. He is a model of holiness for our time and [...] , Carlo showed an unusual attraction for Catholic spirituality and a great devotion to the Virgin Mary, whom he described as the "only woman" in his life. Despite his young age, he left behind many profound

of thirst" and the "beatitude of Mary." Father José Tolentino sees the Church in "Marian style": Mary who is "hospitable," who listens and who is open to life ; Mary who is "honest" with regard to God; [...] May 5 – Coptic Patriarch Kyrillos VI approves the Zeitoun apparitions in Cairo (Egypt, 1968) Without Mary, the Church risks becoming "dehumanized" The Beatitudes and the lifestyle of the faithful and of the [...] God; who “serves" a bigger project . Without Mary, he concludes, the Church risks "becoming dehumanized, functionalist, like a hyperactive factory incapable of taking a break." Zenit

April 4 – Easter Sunday: the Resurrection of the Lord – Saint Francisco Marto of Fatima Was Mary a witness of Christ’s Resurrection? How could the Blessed Virgin, present in the first community of disciples [...] to think that the mother was probably the first person to whom the risen Jesus appeared. Could not Mary’s absence from the group of women who went to the tomb at dawn (cf. Mk 16:1; Mt 28:1) indicate that [...] the Cross and therefore were more steadfast in faith. Indeed, the Risen One entrusts to one of them, Mary Magdalene, the message to be passed on to the Apostles (cf. Jn 20:17-18). Perhaps this fact too allows

established as a liturgical feast - Death of Pope Saint John Paul II (2005) The temptations of Mary on Calvary If Mary was ever tempted, as Jesus was tempted in the desert, it was probably in its fiercest form [...] But He didn’t. Yet Mary did not cry out: "Come down from the Cross; save yourself and me with you!" or, "You have saved many others, why can't you now save yourself too, my Son?" Mary was silent, "giving [...] from Vatican II. She celebrated her Passover with Him. Father Raniero Cantalamessa (1) Excerpt from Marie miroir pour l'Église, Edition Saint-Augustin, 2002 (1) Father Raniero Cantalamessa (b. 1934) is a

April 3 – Holy Saturday – Our Lady of the Cross (Italy, 1490) Mary watches over her children in Iraq Six years ago a long ordeal for the Christians of Iraq began with the arrival of the Islamic State in

(Lithuania, 1432) - 17th apparition in Lourdes Lithuania is Mary’s country In Lithuania, a full 25% of the churches are dedicated to the Virgin Mary. And yet the country only converted to Christianity in 1387 [...] people as a whole, was such that Pope Pius XI once said: "Lithuania is Mary’s country." Among the most important shrines dedicated to Mary are those of Siluva, Kalvarija (or Varduva), Pazaislis (near Kaunas) [...] patroness of their local shrine. · In Vilna, the "Czestochowa" of Lithuania, Mary is known under the name of Our Lady the Gate of Dawn. Marie de Nazareth Website

Experience the Eucharist with Mary at the foot the Cross Saint John Paul II included the institution of the Eucharist as one of the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary. Mary is the "Eucharistic Woman" because [...] attitude that Mary had at the foot of the Cross. On Calvary, Jesus actually asked each one of us to "Behold [our] Mother." The Eucharist is also an act of praise: Let us live it in imitation of Mary's Magnificat [...] Magnificat! Finally, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI insists on the fact that since Mary is the All Beautiful, in whom the splendor of God's glory shines forth, our assemblies should reflect the beauty of the heavenly