Return to The Reign of Mary No. 200
The Reign of Mary
No. 200: Letter from the Editor
June 1, 2026
Feast of the Queenship of Mary
Dear Readers,
Praised be Jesus and Mary!
Praised be Jesus and Mary. The feast of the Queenship of Mary, established by His Holiness Pope Pius XII to be observed annually on May 31st, is transferred this year to today, due to the occurrence of the feast of the Most Holy Trinity on that day. The Queenship is a most important feast of Our Lady, especially in our times. No doubt, you are well aware of the fact that our religious congregation is dedicated to Our Blessed Mother under this title. Mary is our Mother and our Queen; consequently, we must always strive to be her devoted subjects.
As children and slaves of our heavenly Queen, we strive to be instruments in her hands, as she dispenses the graces of her divine Son. For this reason, we keep busy in doing her work. In some ways, the spring season is the busiest time for our priests and religious. The school year is drawing to a close, keeping the teachers occupied with end-of-year activities, such as graduation. Liturgically, there are Ordinations, First Communions and Confirmation, processions and special feast days. Our parishes are humming with activity, yet we all look forward to the somewhat quieter months of summer, especially to the time of our annual religious retreat.
At the same time, the summer season has its own activities, with religious vows ceremonies, summer catechism classes and youth camps. All these activities have one purpose: the salvation of immortal souls. His Excellency often reminds us that time is short, and we must cooperate as instruments of the grace of God for souls. The motto of St. John Bosco especially comes to mind: Da mihi animas; cetera tolle. (Give me souls, take all else.)
The importance of these vital works reminds us of the great need for vocations. We need devout young men to enter the seminary and become tomorrow’s Priests and Brothers. We need pious young women to devote their lives to God as religious Sisters. And we need strong, faithful laity to establish truly Catholic homes where virtue reigns. Thus, the work of the Church goes on. May the Holy Ghost, the “Lord and Giver of life” deign to bless our labors, and may He send us many more workers for the Lord’s vineyard.
As we enter summer, I am reminded of the fact that our annual Fatima Conference is just a few months away. This year’s Conference will be held October 7-11, and we hope to see many of you there. (Please refer to CMRI.org for details). May Our Blessed Mother shower her graces upon our endeavors, and may she deign to keep us all close to her Immaculate Heart!
In Jesus and Mary,
Fr. Benedict Hughes, CMRI (Email)