Marian Devotions Through the Year: April

April in one way or another contains much of the Easter season every year, and for this reason Mary is remembered in it not only as the Mother of Sorrows bereaved of her Son but also as the Queen of the Resurrection and the Mother of the Church, the new Eve and the Co-Redemptrix. There are relatively less feasts dedicated to her than in other months, yet there is a triumphal overarching theme surrounding her as Regina Caeli bids us rejoice with her each time she is hailed through that lovely antiphon. 

Marian Virtue: Ardent Love

This month we focus on the seventh of the traditional Ten Virtues of Our Lady. Ardent Love is truly a defining aspect of Our Lady. Knowing well what awaits the Messiah, she gives a yes at the Annunciation and follows through with it to the end by accompanying Our Lord along the road to Calvary, standing at the foot of the Cross through His last moments, and gently guiding His embalmment and burial though her heart must have been broken beyond any human heart’s breaking ever before or after. Through it all with serene trust and faith she stood by and waited until that glorious moment when He rose never to be separated from her through death again.

Marian Theme: Our Lady of the Resurrection

One might say the Resurrection is the culminating point of Our Lady’s time on earth. Pentecost and the Apostles spreading the Faith of course happens during a time of her intercession on earth for them, but the Resurrection is the moment when our debt to sin has been paid through the Passion and Death and death itself must work backwards to let go the King of kings in the most awesome act of godly power that the world has been witness to. And who could be a sweeter first witness of the Resurrected Christ, as tradition has that He first visited in the first moments after his Rising, than Our Lady who stood by Him, wept for him, and still gave him over in complete surrender to the work of Redemption He came to undertake? To her then belongs the Resurrection in a special way.

Marian Antiphon: Regina Caeli

(for the Ave Regina Caelorum see March’s Journal)

V. Regina caeli, laetare, alleluia. 
R. Quia quem meruisti portare, alleluia. 
V. Resurrexit, sicut dixit, alleluia. 
R. Ora pro nobis Deum, alleluia.

V. Gaude et laetare, Virgo Maria, alleluia. 
R. Quia surrexit Dominus vere, alleluia.

Oremus. Deus, qui per resurrectionem Filii tui, Domini nostri Iesu Christi, mundum laetificare dignatus es: praesta, quaesumus; ut per eius Genetricem Virginem Mariam, perpetuae capiamus gaudia vitae. Per eundem Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

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V. Queen of Heaven, rejoice, alleluia. 
R. For He whom you did merit to bear, alleluia. 
V. Has risen, as he said, alleluia. 
R. Pray for us to God, alleluia.
V. Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary, alleluia. 
R. For the Lord has truly risen, alleluia.

Let us pray. O God, who gave joy to the world through the resurrection of Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, grant we beseech Thee, that through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, His Mother, we may obtain the joys of everlasting life. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

The liturgical year cycles through four Marian Antiphons, each having a Simple Tone and Solemn Tone in Gregorian chant. Marian antiphons are typically chanted after night prayer and immediately before going to bed. April can have both Lent and in Easter, so sometimes the Ave Regina Caelorum is replaced by the Regina Caeli (from Easter Vigil until Pentecost) partway into April. In 2026, the Ave Regina Caelorum is sung until April 4 as that is Holy Saturday and the Regina Caeli is sung for the rest of the month. The Ave Regina Caelorum text is often attributed to the monk from Reichenau, Herimann the Lame (1013-1054) although the Ave’s earliest appearance seems to be in the 12th century. The Regina Caeli text is often attributed to Pope Gregory who died in 998 although it seems to have first appeared around 1200. The chant melody is thought to date from the 14th century. 

Sheet music for the Ave Regina Caelorum Simple Tone may be printed from here (page 238 of the Parish Book of Chant pdf). 

Sheet music for the Solemn Tone may be found on page 237 of the same pdf.

Sheet music for Regina Caeli Simple Tone may be printed from here (page 240 of the Parish book of Chant pdf). 

Sheet music for the Solemn Tone may be found on page 239 of the same pdf. 

Marian Feasts: 

• April 1 - Our Lady of Tears
• April 3 - Apparition of Our Lord to Our Lady and the Apostles in the Upper Room
• April 15 - Our Lady of Victories in the Church of St. Mark, Venice, Italy (1683)
• April 26 - Our Lady of Good Counsel (1467)
• April 28 - Our Lady of Quito, Ecuador

Marian Devotion: The Regina Caeli in place of the Angelus

See above for the text of the prayer. So greatly does Holy Mother Church celebrate the Resurrection that throughout Eastertide she bids her children replace the Angelus with the anthem to Our Lady heralding the Resurrection. A family custom that could be kept when praying the Regina Caeli or Angelus is that the most recent child to make their First Holy Communion is the one who leads it daily. 

Marian Customs Highlight: Adorning Our Lady with Easter Joy 

In some parts of the world, most notably the Philippines and Italy, there is a custom on Easter of carrying a statue of our Lady clothed in a black veil or mantle through the church or streets. In the Philippines there is a second procession carrying a statue of the Risen Christ that meets the procession of the Sorrowful Mother statue part way at which the black veil of our Lady is taken off to symbolize the joy of the Resurrection. In Italy, sometimes a statue of Christ meets our Lady but more often, particularly in the town of Sulmona, our Lady is carried very slowly dressed in black through the streets. Suddenly the bearers hasten into a run, during which the black clothes are dropped to reveal green (a color of joy) robes beneath and red roses in joy of the Resurrection and in memory of Mary being visited by Christ directly after He rose. 

While the United States does not seem to have public customs such as these, a practice with similar intent can be done in the home by making an Easter robe (the way one would make robes for an Infant of Prague statue) for a statue of our Lady in the home or by surrounding her with a bower of Easter flowers in celebration. Keeping up the bower through the Easter season also offers the perfect opportunity for a daily Regina Caeli.