May Devotions: Order, Prayers and Origin of the Month of Mary

A hymn to Our Lady, a reading, the Litany of Loreto and an act of consecration: that is the May devotion with which the faithful honour the Blessed Virgin Mary on every day in May. In its traditional form, the whole month has been dedicated to the Mother of God since the late 18th century. This guide explains where the Month of Mary comes from, how a May devotion is held and how you can keep it at home, with three Marian prayers in full, and which indulgence is attached to it.

What is a May devotion?

A May devotion is a devotion in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary during the month of May. It usually consists of a hymn to Our Lady, a reading or short sermon, the Litany of Loreto and Marian prayers. In church it often closes with Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.

The May devotion is not part of the liturgy like Holy Mass or the Breviary, but a pious exercise, in Latin pium exercitium. That is what the official collection of indulgences, the Preces et pia opera of 1952, calls it. It can be held publicly in the parish church or privately in the family.

The Catholic Encyclopedia of 1911 describes the usual form: prayers such as the litanies and the prayers of the Raccolta, then a short sermon or instruction, and at the end Benediction with the Blessed Sacrament. The 1960 prayer book of the Diocese of St. Pölten names as the May devotion the Vespers of Our Lady or the Litany of Loreto with a selection of prayers. At home it is often prayed before a statue of Our Lady.

Why is May the Month of Mary?

May has been the Month of Mary in its traditional form ever since a Jesuit Father at the Roman College vowed, at the end of the 18th century, to dedicate this month to the Mother of God. From Rome the custom spread through the Jesuit colleges to almost all the churches of the Latin rite.

The Catholic Encyclopedia names him as Father Latomia. With his vow he wished to counter the unbelief and immorality among the students. According to the same source, the May devotion is the oldest example of a devotion spanning a whole month. Other months followed: March for St Joseph, June for the Sacred Heart of Jesus, October for the Rosary. The Church confirmed the Month of Mary with indulgences early on, granted on 21 March 1815 and confirmed in perpetuity on 18 June 1822.

Why the Blessed Virgin in particular is honoured in this way she says herself in the Magnificat: “For behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed” (Lk 1:48, Douay-Rheims). The Litany of Loreto, prayed in the May devotion, strings such praises together.

What is the order of a May devotion?

A May devotion in church has two parts: the May sermon or May reading, framed by a hymn to Our Lady, a prayer to the Holy Ghost and a prayer of thanksgiving, and the prayer itself, the Vespers of Our Lady or the Litany of Loreto with further prayers. It often closes with Benediction.

This is how the prayer book “Heiliges Volk” (Holy People) of the Diocese of St. Pölten of 1960 describes it: “Before the May sermon or May reading a hymn to Our Lady (…), prayer to the Holy Ghost (…), afterwards the prayer of thanksgiving (…).” As the May devotion one prays “the Vespers of Our Lady (…) or the Litany of Loreto” with a selection of prayers (translated from the German). According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the devotion in May, as in June, usually closed with Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.

How do you keep a May devotion at home?

A May devotion at home is kept before an image of Our Lady: the Sign of the Cross, a hymn to Our Lady, a reading from St Luke, a decade of the Rosary, the Litany of Loreto, Marian prayers and finally the Hail, Holy Queen. A quarter of an hour is enough.

1. The Sign of the Cross and a hymn to Our Lady.
2. A reading, for instance the Annunciation (Lk 1:26–38) or the Magnificat (Lk 1:46–55).
3. A decade of the Rosary, that is, one Our Father, ten Hail Marys and one Glory Be, taken from the Joyful, Sorrowful or Glorious Mysteries according to the day of the week.
4. The Litany of Loreto.
5. “We fly to thy patronage” and the Memorare.
6. The act of consecration to Our Lady.
7. The Hail, Holy Queen, in Eastertide the Regina caeli, then the Sign of the Cross.

You will find the Rosary with all its prayers in our prayer guide to the Rosary, which also contains the Hail, Holy Queen. The three Marian prayers follow here in full, the Latin after the Preces et pia opera of 1952 and the English in the traditional form.

Sub tuum praesidium confugimus, sancta Dei Genitrix; nostras deprecationes ne despicias in necessitatibus nostris, sed a periculis cunctis libera nos semper, Virgo gloriosa et benedicta.

We fly to thy patronage, O holy Mother of God; despise not our petitions in our necessities, but deliver us always from all dangers, O glorious and blessed Virgin, our Lady, our Mediatrix, our Advocate. Reconcile us to thy Son, commend us to thy Son, present us to thy Son.

Preces et pia opera, 1952, no. 333; English in the traditional form, with the traditional addition found in “Heiliges Volk”, St. Pölten 1960, p. 135

Memorare, o piissima Virgo Maria, non esse auditum a saeculo, quemquam ad tua recurrentem praesidia, tua implorantem auxilia, tua petentem suffragia esse derelictum. Ego tali animatus confidentia ad te, Virgo Virginum, Mater, curro; ad te venio; coram te gemens peccator assisto. Noli, Mater Verbi, verba mea despicere, sed audi propitia et exaudi. Amen.

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thy intercession, was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother; to thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me. Amen.

Preces et pia opera, 1952, no. 339; English in the traditional form (German in “Heiliges Volk”, St. Pölten 1960, pp. 136–137)

O Domina mea, o Mater mea, tibi me totum offero, atque, ut me tibi probem devotum, consecro tibi oculos meos, aures meas, os meum, cor meum, plane me totum. Quoniam itaque tuus sum, o bona Mater, serva me, defende me ut rem ac possessionem tuam.

O my Lady, O my Mother, I offer myself entirely to thee; and to show my devotion to thee, I consecrate to thee this day my eyes, my ears, my mouth, my heart, my whole being without reserve. Wherefore, good Mother, as I am thine own, keep me, guard me, as thy property and possession. Amen.

Preces et pia opera, 1952, no. 340; English in the traditional form (German in “Heiliges Volk”, St. Pölten 1960, p. 171)

Which feasts fall in the Month of Mary?

In the 1962 calendar, May begins on 1 May with the feast of St Joseph the Worker, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin, and ends on 31 May with the feast of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Depending on the date of Easter, Ascension Day and often Pentecost also fall in this month.

Pope Pius XII instituted the feast of Mary the Queen with the encyclical Ad caeli Reginam of 11 October 1954, at the close of the Marian Year. He decreed that it be celebrated every year throughout the world on 31 May, and ordered that the consecration of the human race to the Immaculate Heart of Mary be renewed on the same day (no. 47). In the 1962 Missal it stands as a feast of the second class.

In the same encyclical Pius XII says that the Litany of Loreto invites the Christian people every day to call upon the Mother of God as Queen (no. 31). As long as Eastertide lasts in May, according to the 1960 prayer book the antiphon Regina caeli, “Queen of Heaven, rejoice, alleluia”, is prayed instead of the Angelus.

“By Our Apostolic authority We decree and institute the feast of Mary the Queen, to be celebrated every year throughout the whole world on 31 May.”

Pius XII, encyclical Ad caeli Reginam, 11 October 1954, no. 47 (our translation from the Latin)

Is there an indulgence for the May devotion?

The Church grants indulgences for the May devotion. According to the Preces et pia opera of 1952, no. 325, those who attend the public May devotion receive an indulgence of seven years each day. Those who take part on at least ten days and fulfil the conditions gain a plenary indulgence.

The conditions for the plenary indulgence are here holy confession, Holy Communion and a prayer for the intentions of the Holy Father.

Those who honour the Mother of God privately in May with prayers or other pious exercises receive an indulgence of five years once a day and, if they practise this daily throughout the whole month, a plenary indulgence under the usual conditions; according to the Praenotanda of the collection, these include, besides confession, Communion and prayer for the intentions of the Holy Father, a visit to a church or public oratory. Where the devotion is held publicly, the plenary indulgence for the private exercise applies only to those who are lawfully prevented from taking part.

In the 1952 collection the Salve Regina, too, carries an indulgence of seven years on every day of May (no. 332).

Is the May devotion obligatory?

The May devotion is not an obligation but a voluntary pious exercise. What is obligatory for Catholics under the 1917 Code of Canon Law is Holy Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation (can. 1247 and 1248); the May devotion does not replace it but is added to it.

The Church invites us to faithfulness through indulgences, not through a commandment. That is why the plenary indulgence for the public devotion requires ten days, not all 31. Whoever can pray only on some days prays on those days; the partial indulgence applies to each day. A May devotion fits into everyday life: a quarter of an hour in the evening, before the image of Our Lady, with the family or alone.

Mentioned in this article Our Lady Queen statue The crowned Mother of God with the Child Jesus, resin, painted in colour by hand, 30 cm tall. To the statue

Frequently asked questions about the May devotion