“La pace sia con tutti voi” – “Peace be with you all”. These were the first words of the newly elected Pope Leo XIV on 8 May 2025.
The longing for peace in the month of May has a long tradition. It is a month of hope and life. In the Northern Hemisphere, the earth springs into bloom and in the Southern Hemisphere, the autumn and winter flowers are displaying their beauty. It is a time of transition in both hemispheres.
For many centuries, the Catholic Church has set aside the entire month of May to honour Mary, Mother of Jesus and Mother of God. In ancient Greece, this beautiful month was dedicated to Artemis, the goddess of fecundity, and in ancient Rome, the month of May was dedicated to Flora, the goddess of (wheat) blooms, as well as to Maia, the Roman goddess of fecundity.
This ancient tradition seems to touch people in their deepest souls. Many centuries later, the practice of decorating pictures and statues of Mary with flowers is still widespread across the world. Many Catholic parishes and homes have a daily recitation of the Rosary during May, or even erect a special May altar with a picture or a statue of Mary who they might crown with beautiful blossoms representing Mary’s beauty and virtue.
Spiritual exercises focussing on Mary have been led by lay people for generations, and prayers to Mary have been especially popular during hard times, when people long for the protecting mother they could always go to.
In Mary’s most famous prayer, the Magnificat, she gives hope to those who have no power, to the vulnerable and exploited, when she says about God: “He has shown the strength of his arm, he has scattered the proud in their conceit. He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty.”
In fact, during World War I and World War II, Pope Benedict XV (1915) and Pope Pius XII (1939) called the faithful to pray for peace during the month dedicated to Mary. In 1965 Pope Paul VI, at the peak of the Cold War and the Vietnam War, published his Encyclical Mense Maio – which promotes praying for peace during the month of May.
World War II ended in May 1945, and in May 2026 we are praying for the many wars and conflicts around the world to come to an end.
In the Basilica Santa Maria Maggiore, there is a beautiful sculpture of Mary, the Queen of Peace, Regina Pacis. Dedicated to the Basilica by Pope Benedict XV and located in the church that Pope Francis chose for his burial place.
Since Pope Leo XIV started his first public speech with the words “Peace be with you all” in May 2025 up to the beginning of May 2026, he has used the word “peace” more than 400 times in his addresses as reported in the Vatican News.
The connection between the bearer of life and the search for peace has been ancient, and so, it is comforting to know that this connection is still very strong.
At the end of his Encyclical Lumen Fidei, Pope Francis prays to Mary with the words: “Open our ears to hear God’s word and to recognise his voice and call. Awaken in us a desire to follow in his footsteps, to go forth from our own land and to receive his promise. […] Remind us that those who believe are never alone.”
BM
