Bishop Philip wrote: We begin the month of May, which traditionally among Catholics is known as “Mary’s Month,” a specific month of the year when devotions are made in honour of the Blessed Mother. In ancient Greece and Rome, the month of May was dedicated to pagan goddesses connected to fertility and springtime. This, combined with other European rituals commemorating the new season of Spring, led many Western cultures to view May as a month of life and motherhood. In some parts of the early Church, there was a major feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary celebrated on the 15th May, but it was not until the eighteenth century that the month of May received a particular association with Our Lady. In 1945, Pope Pius XII solidified May as a Marian month when he established the feast of the Queenship of Mary on 31st May. After Vatican II, this feast was moved to 22nd August, but 31st May became instead the feast of the Visitation of Mary (although this year, falling on a Sunday, this Feast is eclipsed by the Most Holy Trinity.)
 
This May, then, let’s frequently call on the help of Mary’s prayers, especially by attending Mass and by reciting the Rosary. In 2020, Pope Francis wrote a Letter to the faithful about the Month of May: “The month of May is approaching, a time when the People of God express with particular intensity their love and devotion for the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is traditional in this month to pray the Rosary at home within the family. .. I want to encourage everyone to rediscover the beauty of praying the Rosary at home in the month of May. … Dear brothers and sisters, contemplating the face of Christ with the heart of Mary our Mother will make us even more united as a spiritual family and will help us overcome this time of trial. I keep all of you in my prayers, especially those suffering most greatly, and I ask you, please, to pray for me. I thank you, and with great affection I send you my blessing.”
 
Pray for our Diocese, for one another and for peace. [Source: Portsmouth Diocese e-News] [Image: The Catholic National Shrine and Basilica of Our Lady, Walsingham]