Los Angeles, Calif., May 19, 2018 / 05:03 am
May 21 will mark the memorial of Mary, Mother of the Church, added to the Roman calendar this year by Pope Francis.
The annual memorial is intended to foster Marian devotion among Catholics. Cardinal Robert Sarah, head of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, said this celebration will help promote affection for Christ and his mother.
"This celebration will help us to remember that growth in the Christian life must be anchored to the Mystery of the Cross, to the oblation of Christ in the Eucharistic Banquet and to the Mother of the Redeemer and Mother of the Redeemed," he said in a March 3 letter.
For the inaugural celebration of the memorial – which will be held annually on the Monday after Pentecost – some dioceses are planning special Masses, processions and prayer services.