Ad Caeli Reginam
Ad Caeli Reginam accepted so that with the encyclical Ad Caeli Reginam, of October 11, 1954, Pope Pius XII instituted the feast of the Queenship of Mary.[2] 2 Basic teachings According to Catholic teaching Mary should be called Queen, not only because of her divine motherhood of Je- sus Christ, but also because God has willed her to have an exceptional role in the work of salvation. Mary was cho- sen as Mother of Christ in order that she might become a partner in the redemption of the human race: “As Christ, the new Adam must be called a King not merely because He is Son of God, but also because He is our Redeemer, so, analogously, the Most Blessed Virgin is queen not only because she is Mother of God, but also because, as the new Eve, she was associated with the new Adam.”[3] 3 Context The Church has always taught that Mary is far above all other creatures in dignity, and after her Son possesses pri- macy over all. Germanus of Constantinople says: “Your honor and dignity surpass the whole of creation; your Botticelli, the coronation of the Virgin greatness places you above the angels.” And St. John Damascene goes so far as to say: “Limitless is the dif- Ad Caeli Reginam is an encyclical of Pope Pius XII, ference between God’s servants and His Mother.” [4] given at Rome, from St. Peter’s Basilica, on the feast of Pius XII quotes his predecessors: Pope Pius IX, “With a the Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the eleventh heart that is truly a mother’s,” does she approach the prob- day of October, 1954, in the sixteenth year of his Pon- lem of our salvation, and is solicitous for the whole hu- tificate.
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