Crowning the statue of Mary on May Day

Posted on by Tom

Back when I attended Catholic grammar school in the 1960s, the nuns would have all of the students assemble every year on the first weekday of May to honor the Blessed Virgin Mary. Weather permitting, the students would line up by class on a field adjoining the church, and then proceed in order into the church singing Ave Maria. Bringing up the rear of the procession was the May Queen and her two attendants. The nuns inevitably chose the prettiest and smartest eighth grade girl to be the May Queen. She was dressed to the nines for the occasion and carried a small crown of flowers. After she entered the church and proceeded to the small Marian altar to the right of the main altar, she placed the crown on the statue of Mary, honoring her as the Queen of Heaven.

Little did we know at the time how un-Biblical all of that “veneration” (aka worship) of Mary actually was. According to the Bible, Mary was a humble servant of the Lord who rejoiced in her Savior. She would be mortified by the idolatrous worship accorded to her by Roman Catholicism.

“And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” – Luke 1:46-47

Roman Catholicism, Mary, and Idolatry
https://carm.org/roman-catholicism-mary-idolatry

Below are some additional photos of Catholic May Day coronations:

MD1 MD2 MD3 MD4

26 thoughts on “Crowning the statue of Mary on May Day”

  1. I use to think this was such a beautiful thing. When my husband and I were married under catholicism we laid a rose at “Mary’s” feet while we all sang Ava Maria… THAT IS WORSHIPING! I felt clearly that we were worshiping “her”! This “Mary” is of a different spirit~not the Biblical Mary! SHARING!!!
    1 John 4:1
    4 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
    GLORY TO GOD FOR THE WISDOM HE GIVES YOU TO SHARE, Tom!!!

    Liked by 4 people

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    1. Elizabeth, thanks for the encouragement in the Lord and for the reblog! Of course Catholics deny they worship Mary and qualify it as “hyper-dulia” veneration, but that’s just self-justifying sophistry.

      Liked by 6 people

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  2. Certainly brings back some memories. Makes me angry and sad at rhe same time.
    Although God did use Mariology to bring me to His Truth.
    Blessings Tom. Thank youmfor exposing these lies.

    Liked by 5 people

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    1. Thanks, Crissy. The Lord also used certain elements of Catholicism to draw me to Him. Yes, the nuns really pushed Mariology on us, but for some reason it didn’t appeal to me. Looking back on my 27 years in Catholicism, I never had much of any “devotion” to Mary or any of the “saints.” Silent rebel that I was, I remember thinking as a child, why should I pray to Mary or others when I can pray directly to God? I was a square peg even back then! 🙂 Praise God that He used Mariolatry to draw you to Him!

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      2. Raised Catholic, I am thankful that it gave me the introduction to God. I was never a strong Catholic and was born again in 1993. It did provide me with a foundation though. The Holy Spirit starting working on my heart that year. I remember thinking of my current lifestyle that if I died I KNEW I was going to hell. This was based on my lack of good works of course, but it really opened the door for my brother-in-law to share the truth of the gospel and the salvation message. ❤

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      3. Thanks, Julie. Yes, I agree. Some Catholic doctrines were helpful while others were obstacles to accepting Christ. Like you, I never had any true spiritual peace in Catholicism because my salvation ultimately rested upon my obedience, a perpetually untrustworthy foundation. While our Catholic understanding of the Bible was faulty, at least we had some knowledge. Many people today have zero knowledge of the Bible

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    1. Thanks, sister! Yes, this coronation of the Mary statue on May Day was a HUGE deal in Catholic grammar schools back in the day, but since so many schools have folded, I imagine the crownings are now much more low key.

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  4. Yuk! This is news to me. I appreciate the information. Mary would be so disappointed if she knew that people would eventually come to worship her. She was such a humble woman of God.

    Liked by 4 people

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    2. Amen, Chris! That would be a GREAT way to approach the subject to a practicing catholic.
      It would kind of be like if I kept thanking Tom and praising him for something he didn’t do… he would be asking me to please stop and pointing me to whom I should be thanking!

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  5. Reblogged this on The X Mass H8rs Blog and commented:
    Queen of Heaven was a title given to a number of ancient sky goddesses worshipped throughout the ancient Mediterranean and Near East during ancient times. Goddesses known to have been referred to by the title include Inanna, Anat, Isis, Astarte, Hera, and possibly Asherah (by the prophet Jeremiah). In Greco-Roman times Hera, and her Roman aspect Juno bore this title. Forms and content of worship varied. In modern times, the title “Queen of Heaven” is still used by contemporary pagans to refer to the Great Goddess, while Catholics, Orthodox, and some Anglican Christians now apply the ancient title to Mary, the mother of Jesus.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_of_heaven_(antiquity)

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      1. Great read! I was given a 1950 Year of Mary family bible by a friend who was not a Christian nor a practicing Catholic. She was moving out of state and wanted to thank me for all of my help. It was her grandmother’s so I hung on to it thinking she would request it back. I got convicted and threw the huge tome into the recycling bin, making sure it was not able to be pieced back together for anyone to take out of the bin. 🙂

        Liked by 3 people

      2. Thanks! I imagine that Bible had a connection to the doctrine of Mary’s Assumption into Heaven being defined by the pope in 1950?

        Liked by 3 people

      3. Sorry for the late reply. Yes, I believe it did. It talked of her childhood, too. But we know that had to have been made up.

        Have a blessed evening, Tom!

        Liked by 3 people

    1. Thanks, Maria! As I recall, this May Day procession and coronation was one of the biggest events of the school year. Yes, part of the excitement was because of the season. I had to dig deep down into the memory banks for this one.

      Liked by 2 people

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    1. I had no experience with the Maypole as a child although I’ve heard of it. I see there is speculation that it has pagan origins. I’m pretty familiar with Polish culture, and in Poland there is a Springtime ritual of dowsing girls and women with water on Dyngus Day, the Monday after Easter. This is also thought to have pagan origins.

      Liked by 3 people

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    1. Thanks, Jimmy. My guess is that many/most of the evangelicals who give the RCC a pass hear mention of “faith,” “grace,” and “Jesus the Savior” and pronounce “close enough” without really understanding the nuts and bolts of it.

      Liked by 4 people

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