Christ the King is one of the titles of Our Lord Jesus Christ, formally celebrated and memorialized by Pope Pius XI with the feast of Christ the King in 1925 and the papal encyclical Quas Primas (“In the first”) to tackle rising atheism and secularism.
In Quas Primas, Pope Pius XI reiterated traditional Catholic teaching that both individuals and states must submit themselves to the dominion of Jesus Christ the King. In other words, not only Catholic countries, but the whole of mankind, are to admit that Jesus Christ is King.
If Our Lord Jesus Christ is King, then his biological mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, is necessarily Queen.
Many Catholic prayers give royal attention to the Blessed Virgin Mary. For instance, we Catholics praise the Blessed Virgin Mary regularly (if not daily), during the “Salve Regina” ( “Hail Holy Queen”), when we hail the Virgin Mary as “our life, our sweetness and our hope”.
Similarly, in Eastertide, we sing the “Regina Coeli” (“Queen of Heaven”) Marian antiphon to celebrate the resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
From Candlemas to Holy Week, we address the Virgin Mary in the chant “Ave Regina Caelorum”, once again hailing the Mother of God as “Queen of Heaven”.
In the 5th Glorious Mystery of the Most Holy Rosary, we meditate on the mystery of Our Lady’s Queenship.
In the Litany of Loreto, we invoke the Blessed Mother under Marian titles such as “Queen of Angels”, “Queen of Prophets”, and “Queen conceived without original sin”.
Every year on May 3, faithful Polish Catholics celebrate the Feast of the Most Holy Virgin Mary, Queen of Poland (Najświętsza Maryja Panna Królowa Polski).
Marian devotion, and by extension, Mary’s Queenship, is firmly grounded in Sacred Scripture. As an ancient saying also attributable to Saint Augustine puts it, “the New Testament lies hidden in the Old and the Old Testament is unveiled in the New”, the Catholic Church has interpreted the Old Testament as prefiguring the New, and read the New in light of the Old.
Pitre stated that “just as King David was born and raised in Bethlehem, so the future ruler (as mentioned by the prophet Micah) will ‘come forth’ from Bethlehem”. Also, the “mother of Emmanuel” in Isaiah’s prophecy would consequently be the “queen mother”.
For one, the Old Testament idea of a “kingdom” plays a central part in “understanding the Bible’s message of salvation”[1], as Brant Pitre, Catholic academic and author of the book “Jesus and the Jewish Roots of Mary - Unveiling the Mother of the Messiah”, puts it.
In his work, Pitre urges readers to understand Scripture through ancient Jewish eyes, in other words, to read Scripture in terms of how ancient Jews around the time of Jesus Christ would understand it. Pitre subsequently mentions that just as the Old Testament alluded to the notion of “kingdom” in God’s plan of salvation, Our Lord Jesus Christ in the New Testament described the “gospel” in terms of “the kingdom of God”[2].
“And after that John was delivered up, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying: The time is accomplished, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent, and believe the gospel.” (Mark 1:14-15)
In his aforementioned book, Pitre pointed out that the Old Testament tradition of the “queen mother” in the Davidic kingdom is a major biblical theme that is vital in unraveling the truth and mystery of Mary’s Queenship.
Using rich biblical scholarship to shed some light on how in the Davidic kingdom (the monarchy of King David), Pitre elaborated on how the mother of the incumbent king in the Davidic kingdom enjoyed “an official position in the kingdom” that was “second in rank only to the king himself”[3]. Not only did the “queen mother” wear a “crown” and sit on a “throne” , it was the king’s mother who ruled as queen, not his wife, alongside the king[4].
For instance, in the biblical account of King Solomon (1 Kings 2:20), the queen mother is seated at the “right hand” of the king. Also, in the Book of Psalms, the queen mother is portrayed as standing “at the right hand” of the king:
“...at your right hand stands the queen in gold of Ophir.” (Psalm 45:9)
Additionally, Pitre stated that besides featuring prominently in Israel’s history, the “queen mother” also surfaces in prophecies regarding the future king of Israel”, subsequently called “the Messiah”[5]:
“And the Lord spoke again to (King) Achaz, saying: ‘Ask thee a sign of the Lord thy God either unto the depth of hell, or unto the height above. And Achaz said: I will not ask, and I will not tempt the Lord. And he said: Hear ye therefore, O house of David: Is it a small thing for you to be grievous to men, that you are grievous to my God also? Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel.’” (Isaiah 7: 10-14)
Also, the prophet Micah prophesied a future king who is a “new David”:
“And thou Bethlehem Ephrata, art a little one among the thousands of Juda: out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be the ruler in Israel: and his going forth is from the beginning, from the days of eternity. Therefore will he give them up even till the time wherein she that travaileth shall bring forth: and the remnant of his brethren shall be converted to the children of Israel.” (Micah 5: 2-3)
Relying on biblical scholarship and the prophets, Pitre stated that “just as King David was born and raised in Bethlehem, so the future ruler (as mentioned by the prophet Micah) will ‘come forth’ from Bethlehem”. Also, the “mother of Emmanuel” in Isaiah’s prophecy would consequently be the “queen mother”[6].
Pitre then examines how the Gospel of Saint Matthew, often known as “the Gospel of the Kingdom”[7], described the Blessed Virgin Mary. He mentioned how St. Matthew’s royal “genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David” (Matthew 1:1) named the Virgin Mary explicitly at the end[8]:
“And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. So all the generations, from Abraham to David, are fourteen generations. And from David to the transmigration of Babylon, are fourteen generations: and from the transmigration of Babylon to Christ are fourteen generations.” (Matthew 1: 16-17)
By reading the New Testament in light of the Old, Saint Matthew points out the fact that Our Lord Jesus Christ is “the Son of David”, and the true and long-awaited “King of the Jews”[9]. Ergo, if Jesus Christ is the true “King of the Jews”, the Blessed Virgin Mary is the rightful “Queen”.
According to Saint Matthew’s Gospel, Saint Joseph is also of royal stock. The evangelist, in his genealogical account of Jesus Christ, also identified Saint Joseph as a member of the house of King David.
Moreover, according to Saint Matthew’s Gospel, Saint Joseph is also of royal stock. The evangelist, in his genealogical account of Jesus Christ, also identified Saint Joseph as a member of the house of King David. Saint Matthew also narrates how an angel was sent by God to encourage Saint Joseph to take the Blessed Virgin Mary as his wife, referencing Saint Joseph’s royal lineage:
“But while he thought on these things, behold the angel of the Lord appeared to him in his sleep, saying: Joseph, son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her, is of the Holy Ghost.” (Matthew 1: 20)
Corroborating Saint Matthew’s Gospel, Saint Luke also underscored the royalty of Saint Joseph:
“And it came to pass, that in those days there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that the whole world should be enrolled. This enrolling was first made by Cyrinus, the governor of Syria. And all went to be enrolled, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem: because he was of the house and family of David.” (Luke 2: 1-4)
Hence, the royalty of Saint Joseph (albeit hidden during the life of the Holy Family in Nazareth, etc.) should be considered by Catholics as well.
In his talk, “The Hidden King: The Jewish Roots of St. Joseph”[10], Pitre noted the humiliation that Saint Joseph had to undergo by returning to his ancestral land, Bethlehem, in obedience to the census degree issued by the pagan Roman emperor Caesar Augustus, despite the fact that it was Saint Joseph who was a royal member of the “house of David” and the earthly prelude to the Messiah-King.
Ironically, Pitre adds, it was the pagan emperor Caesar Augustus who became an inadvertent instrument of God for the accomplishment of Old Testament prophecies of Micah stipulating that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem.
Saint Joseph’s profound humility, obedience and resignation to God’s will in adversities is an excellent and concrete blueprint for us Catholics to live out the Gospel of the Kingdom of God in our lives.
Blessed William Joseph Chaminade, a fervent devotee of Saint Joseph, declared that God would only select the worthiest of men to be the spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary:
“If God had charged you with the honorable task of choosing from among the kings a husband for the Blessed Virgin, would you not have given her the greatest mind in the world? … Do you think that the Holy Spirit, who is the author of this divine marriage, is less concerned than you are to provide her with a husband suited to her merits?” (“Marian Writings”, Vol. 1, 1980)
As the Blessed Virgin Mary is Queen, it is only fitting that a spouse adorned with virtues and also royalty be selected to be Our Lady’s chaste companion throughout life and to be the earthly guardian of Jesus Christ the Messiah. In God’s eyes, the best candidate for this mission was none other than Saint Joseph, of the royal house of David.
As Catholics celebrate the feast of Saint Joseph the Worker and patron saint of workers on May 1, it behooves us to remember the fact that this artisan of Nazareth and chaste spouse of the Mother of God is also a king.
Yet Saint Joseph’s profound humility, obedience and resignation to God’s will in adversities (think of his flight to Egypt and exile there with the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Christ Child to escape the cruelty of the imposter king Herod who was installed by the Romans) is an excellent and concrete blueprint for us Catholics to live out the Gospel of the Kingdom of God in our lives.
By honoring the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the hidden Kingship of Saint Joseph, Catholics can fully appreciate and honor the Kingship of Jesus Christ, son of the Blessed Virgin Mary and foster son of Saint Joseph, son of David.
¡Viva Cristo Rey!
¡Viva la Virgen!
¡Viva San José!
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[1] Brant Pitre, Jesus and the Jewish Roots of Mary - Unveiling the Mother of the Messiah (Ignatius Press, 2018), 71.
[2] Brant Pitre, Jesus and the Jewish Roots of Mary - Unveiling the Mother of the Messiah (Ignatius Press, 2018), 72.
[3] Brant Pitre, Jesus and the Jewish Roots of Mary - Unveiling the Mother of the Messiah (Ignatius Press, 2018), 75-76.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Brant Pitre, Jesus and the Jewish Roots of Mary - Unveiling the Mother of the Messiah (Ignatius Press, 2018), 78.
[6] Brant Pitre, Jesus and the Jewish Roots of Mary - Unveiling the Mother of the Messiah (Ignatius Press, 2018), 79.
[7]“Is Mary’s Queenship Biblical?”, Catholic Answers, Accessed on April 29, 2024, https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/is-marys-queenship-biblical.
[8] Brant Pitre, Jesus and the Jewish Roots of Mary - Unveiling the Mother of the Messiah (Ignatius Press, 2018), 81.
[9] “Is Mary’s Queenship Biblical?”, Catholic Answers, Accessed on April 29, 2024, https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/is-marys-queenship-biblical.
[10] “The Hidden King - The Jewish Roots of St. Joseph”, Catholic Productions, Accessed April 29, 2024, https://catholicproductions.com/products/the-hidden-king-the-jewish-roots-of-st-joseph.
