December 31
Regina
Familiarum, Roman Catholic Church
On Sunday, December 31, 1995, at the request of Pope John
Paul II, the Vatican announced a new addition to the Litany of
Loreto:
"Queen of Families, pray for us." The Sacred Congregation for
Divine Worship chose this date to make the announcement because it was the
Feast of the Holy Family, which falls on the Sunday between Christmas and
New Year's. Prayers to Mary, Queen of Families invoke her as the mother of
the Holy Family in Nazareth, where she and Joseph raised the child Jesus,
and as Mother of the Church, helping raise all the children of God.
Pope John Paul II, October 4, 1997, Rio de Janeiro: "Mary Queen of the Family, Seat of Wisdom, Handmaid of the Lord, pray for us. Pray for us, pray for young people, pray for families."
Pope Benedict XVI, May 16, 2008, Rome: "May Mary, Queen of the Family, as a bright Star of hope guide the journey of all humanity's families."
Pope Francis, December 29, 2019, Rome: "Let us entrust to Mary, 'Queen of the Family,' all the families in the world, especially those who suffer or who are in distress, and invoke upon them her maternal protection."
Information from Matthew Mauriello, "Queen of Families," Fairfield County Catholic, January 1996, in The Mary Page, campus.udayton.edu/mary/meditations/Feb98.html. Papal prayers during speeches from www.vatican.va. Picture of the medieval statue of the Królowa Rodzin (Queen of Families) at the pilgrimage shrine in Wambierzyce, Poland from "Wambierzyce," mapa.szukacz.pl/
Also commemorated this date:
 | Reina del Amor, San Gerardo, Sarapiquí, Heredia, Costa Rica (Queen of Love). Apparitions began, 1990. |
| Virgen de Concepción, Nuevo San Carlos, Retalhuleu, Guatemala. Patronal fiesta. |
| Santa Maria in Aula Regia, Comacchio, Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. Liturgical fullfilment of public vow. |
| St. Mary, Kampala, Uganda. Catholic cathedral consecrated, 1925. |