Honoring the Blessed Virgin Mary as Queen

Todd Rickel
Sep 4, 2018 · 1 min read

A partner with the marketing and branding firm Conservaco, LLC, Todd Rickel also continues almost two decades of experience in the field of education as a managing member of the Rickel Education Group, LLC. Personally, Todd Rickel belongs to St. Hilary parish and enjoys deepening his knowledge of Mariology, the study of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The fifth glorious mystery of the rosary, titled the Coronation of the Blessed Virgin Mary as Queen of Heaven and Earth, provides the opportunity for meditation on a truth introduced by the angel Gabriel’s announcement to Mary that she would become the mother of the Savior, the Messiah. According to tradition and scripture, the Messiah would sit on the throne of David as the king whose rule would never end.

By Jewish tradition, the title of queen belonged to the mother of the king rather than to the wife of the king as modern practice holds. Consequently, honoring Mary as queen arose naturally in the very early days of the church out of Jewish tradition.

Throughout the centuries, the church continued to honor Mary by the title with hymns such as “Hail, Queen of Heaven” and “Hail, Holy Queen.” Then in 1954, Pope Pius XII instituted the feast of the Queenship of Mary on August 22 and wrote an encyclical titled “To the Queen of Heaven,” in which he expounded all the reasons she deserved the title by her faithful participation in God’s work of redemption.

Todd Rickel

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Based in Akron, Ohio, Todd Rickel is the managing partner and president of EDUGRP, LLC, a K-20 education innovation company.