Holy Name of Mary
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Most Holy Name of Mary, Feast of the Holy Name of Mary, or simply Holy Name of Mary is a feast in the Roman Catholic Church which is celebrated on September 12. It was made a universal feast by Blessed Pope Innocent XI to commemorate victory over the Turks at the Battle of Vienna in 1683. The feast celebrates the name of Mary (mother of Jesus).
The feast exemplifies the Roman Catholic focus on Mariology and the veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary. At Rome one of the twin churches at the Forum Trajani is dedicated to the Name of Mary.
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[edit] History
The feast was only a local one at its inception in 1513, when it was instituted in Cuenca, Spain. It was initially celebrated on 15 September. In 1587 Pope Sixtus V moved the celebration to 17 September. Pope Gregory XV extended the celebration to the Archdiocese of Toledo in 1622. In 1666 the Discalced Carmelites received the faculty to recite the Office of the Name of Mary four times a year (duplex). In 1671 the feast was extended to the whole of Spain. After the victory of the Christians, lead by King John III Sobieski of Poland, over the Turks in the Battle of Vienna in 1683, the feast was extended to the whole Church by Pope Innocent XI, and assigned to the Sunday after the Nativity of Mary. Before the battle King John had placed his troops under the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary. After the battle Pope Innocent XI, wishing to honor Mary, extended the feast to the entire Church.
[edit] Date of the feast
In the Ambrosian Calendar of Milan the feast of the Holy Name of Mary was assigned to September 11th. By the time of the General Roman Calendar as in 1954 the date was set as 12 September. After a short period when it was removed because considered a duplication it of the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary on 8 September,[1] it was restored to 12 September.[2]
[edit] References
- ^ Calendarium Romanum (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1969), p. 138
- ^ Martyrologium Romanum (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2001 ISBN 88-209-7210-7)
