The Holy Name of Mary

The Litany of Blessed Virgin Mary, as we know it today, was first prayed at the Shrine of Our Lady of Loreto in Italy, where its usage was recorded as early as 1558. At the time, there were also many other litanies in existence throughout the world. In 1587, Pope Sixtus V approved the Litany of Loreto for the faithful use by the Church and suppressed all the other Marian litanies. The Litany of Loreto contains many titles used formally and informally for Mary, and it set before us Mary's exalted privileges, her holiness of life, her amiability and power, her motherly spirit and queenly majesty. I hardly ever paid any attention to any of these titles in the Litany while praying the Rosary, and often mumbled "Pray for us" without ever thinking who is it that actually praying for us. So it is certainly a good idea to examine each one of these titles to learn and meditate more about its origins, their relationship to the Scriptures, and more importantly, how it is connected to Jesus and points us to the kingdom of God.