Visitation of the BVM
Today, May 31, the
Catholic Church observes the
Feast of the
Visitation to
commemorate Blessed Virgin Mary's visit to her cousin, Elizabeth, as recorded in
Luke 1:39-56. Elizabeth, who was also
pregnant, was carrying the future
John the Baptist, although she was supposedly beyond
child bearing age and already in her sixth month. As
described in the
Gospel, when Mary
greeted Elizabeth, the child lept in Elizabeth's
womb, and she cried out "
Blessed are you
among women, and blessed is the
fruit of your
womb." These words were later made part of the famous "
Hail Mary"
prayer. In
response, Mary spoke the words that are found in another well known prayer called the
Magnificat, which begins:
My soul magnifies the Lord, And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
This Feast appears to be unknown in the early church, but it surfaced in 1263 as part of the calendar of a Franciscan Chapter in 1263. Due to Franciscan support, it grew in popularity until Pope Urban VI decreed that the Feast be observed by the whole church in 1389.