Old St. Mary's hosts celebration for brand new feast of Mary, Mother of the Church

DETROIT — “Then He said to the disciple, ‘Behold your mother!’ And from that hour the disciple took her into his home” (John 19:27).

On May 21, the Church celebrated a new feast day, but the celebration was something as old as the Church itself.

At Old St. Mary Parish in Greektown, the church was packed with the faithful celebrating the new, yet ageless, feast of Mary, Mother of the Church.

“Only those who are like the Beloved Disciple, John, understand what it means to be beloved: you must take Mary into your home,” Detroit Auxiliary Bishop Donald Hanchon said during his homily. “To take Mary into our homes, it’s an important privilege and responsibility.”



Bishop Hanchon celebrated the special Mass, which was raised to the dignity of a feast day by Pope Francis this year, along with fellow Auxiliary Bishop Gerard Battersby. The celebration at Old St. Mary’s, which was cosponsored by The Michigan Catholic, featured a May crowning of a wooden Marian statue, a procession through the church (an audible sorts on account of rain), and the praying of the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

In his homily, Bishop Hanchon explained what it means for the Church to call Mary its mother and how her motherly role impacts the lives of the faithful.

“In the Gospel, she stands at the foot of the cross; she doesn’t run and hide,” Bishop Hanchon said. “She stand with her Son, witnessing His obedience and love, and amidst it all, somehow she knew this was God’s intention, that He will always bring victory from this suffering and defeat. She shows how not to abandon Him.”

Jesus’ human side — his mannerisms, how he learned to pray, and what he looks like, all came from Mary, Bishop Hanchon said.

The Gospel even shows early examples of Mary interceding with Jesus on people’s behalf and giving people the timeless motherly advice of “doing what (Jesus) tell us to do.”

“When attending the wedding at Cana, Mary noticed a problem: there was no wine,” Bishop Hanchon said. “The party had just begun, so she turned to the waiter and said, ‘Do whatever He tells you do.’ And then she disappeared. It’s good advice from our mother: ‘Do whatever Jesus tells you.’”

Bishop Hanchon invited the congregation to start practical Marian devotions, such as creating small Marian shrines in their bedrooms or reciting a Hail Mary when driving past a church.

He added that the Church, as the bride of Christ, mothers over all the faithful, and Mary, as Mother of the Church, is the example the Church is meant to follow.

“Mary is the perfect type of model in the Church,” Bishop Hanchon said. “She is one who heard the word of God in the depths of her heart and found the faith to say, ‘Be it done to me, as You will.’ She shows us the way.”



Following Mass, Bishops Hanchon and Battersby led the congregation in Benediction and reciting the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Even though this is the first year for the feast on the liturgical calendar, Bishop Hanchon said devotion to Mary as the mother of the Church dates back to the apostles, and, more recently, the Second Vatican Council.

“I remember being told by (Detroit) Cardinal (John F.) Dearden at the close of the Second Vatican Council, it was Paul VI who announced that Catholics throughout the world can refer to Mary as the mother of the Church. He said the bishops were so moved by his fever in saying that,” Bishop Hanchon said. “He wanted to entrust the Church once again to this woman, who for years taught her Son how to pray.”

A Marian procession through Greektown was intended to take place, but the weather, and Mary, Queen of the Skies, had other plans, so students from Gabriel Richard High School in Riverview carried the statue of Mary through the church instead.

Laura Boesch of Mercy High School in Farmington Hills crowned the statue, and Bishop Hanchon gave it a blessing before the Gabriel Richard students carried it in procession as the congregation sang hymns to Mary.

“I didn’t know what to expect, but I knew it was a great honor to carry the Virgin Mary for this procession,” Jerry Esquible, a junior at Gabriel Richard, told The Michigan Catholic. “It was very powerful; you could feel the presence of Mary and Jesus around the church, and it was a very special thing. It was a great honor to carry Mary and just feel the Holy Spirit.”

Following the procession, the Marian statue was placed next to the altar as the congregation adored the Blessed Sacrament.

The Church has many devotions to Mary, but adding a feast day to Mary, Mother of the Church, shows that she is more than just an example to follow.

“In Catholic theology, it was always believed that Mary is the mother of Jesus, obviously,” said Mark Nemecek, who was representing the Detroit chapter of Young Catholic Professionals, one of many groups and school represented at the Mass. “Jesus said in the Gospel today, ‘Behold your mother.’ If Mary is the mother of Jesus, then by extension, she is the mother of all Christians. If the Church is the mystical body of Christ, then by extension, Mary is the mother of the Church. The proper feast day is new, but the devotions to Mary aren’t new. Mary was the first Christian, and if you follow Mary, she will take you to Christ.”