Traditionally, for the Church, May is the month of Mary and the Rosary. This significance is even more evident this year, since Pope Francis wished to dedicate the month to a worldwide marathon of prayer on the theme «From the whole Church, prayer was constantly being made to God (Acts 12:5)», to implore an end to the pandemic.
As explained in the note from the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization, «with the prayer of the Rosary, each day of the month is marked by a prayer intention for the various categories of people most affected by the tragedy of the pandemic». Here are some of the intentions that will mark the prayer: For those who were unable to say goodbye to their loved ones, for healthcare workers, for the poor, the homeless, and people experiencing financial hardship, and for all the deceased. The initiative «will involve all the shrines of the world in a special way, so that they may encourage the faithful, families, and communities to pray the Rosary to implore an end to the pandemic.

Thirty representative shrines, spread throughout the world, will lead the Marian prayer, which will be broadcast live on the Holy See’s official channels at 6 p.m. each day.«Every shrine in the world is invited to pray in the manner and language in which the local tradition customarily expresses itself, to implore the resumption of social life, work, and the many human activities that were suspended during the pandemic», the statement specified, in order to «create a continuous prayer, distributed across the meridians of the world, rising constantly from the whole Church to the Father through the intercession of the Virgin Mary».
Among the shrines involved will be: Our Lady of Częstochowa in Poland; the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth; Our Lady of Aparecida in Brazil; Our Lady of Luján in Argentina; the Holy House of Loreto in Italy; Our Lady of Knock in Ireland; the Virgin of the Poor in Banneux, Belgium; Our Lady of the Rosary of Fátima in Portugal; Our Lady Queen of Peace in Medjugorje, Bosnia; Our Lady of Lourdes in France; Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico; Our Lady of the Holy Rosary of Pompeii in Italy..
The Pope himself will open and close the month in what will be a worldwide full immersion in prayer of the Holy Rosary. 

May, the month of Our Lady: why?

The tradition associating Our Lady with the month of May has no foundation in Sacred Scripture. It took root and developed over the centuries through a succession of initiatives and celebrations.
The earliest traces that Church history gives us concerning the tradition of the month of May date back to the Middle Ages, specifically to 1100, when the philosophers of Chartres in France, in the shadow of the great abbey dedicated to the Virgin Mary, attempted to Christianize pagan festivals honoring nature in bloom and certain female deities by attributing to them the features of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
In the 13th century, Alfonso X, king of Castile and León, known as “the Wise”, celebrated Mary in one of his compositions, “Las Cantigas de Santa Maria”, as: «Rose of roses, flower of flowers, woman among women, unique lady, light of the saints and of the heavens, way».
We must then turn to Germany, where the Dominican Blessed Henry Suso of Constance, a German mystic who lived from 1295 to 1366, addressed Our Lady in “The Little Book of Eternal Wisdom” as follows: «Blessed are you, rising dawn, above all creatures, and blessed is the meadow of red roses on your beautiful face, adorned with the ruby-red flower of Eternal Wisdom!».

May and the Rosary

In the Middle Ages, the tradition of the Rosary arose as the foremost prayer dedicated to Mary. The origin of the Rosary is in fact to be found in the custom of decorating statues of Our Lady with garlands of flowers, especially roses, the flower associated with the month of May. «Just as garlands of roses are offered to the beloved, garlands of Hail Marys are given to Our Lady», says a medieval verse.
Thus the tradition of praying the Rosary in May was born. An interesting exploration of the origin and history of the Rosary can be found in the book “Pray the Holy Rosary every day, pray together”
In the 16th century in Rome, Saint Philip Neri, through his work in the Oratory, taught his young people to surround the image of the Mother of God with flowers, sing her praises, and offer acts of mortification in her honor.

First publications on the month of May

The Jesuit Father Hannibal Dionisi, born in Verona in 1679, published in 1725, under the pseudonym Mariano Partenio, “The Month of Mary, or the Month of May Consecrated to Mary through the Practice of Various Flowers of Virtue Proposed to Her True Devotees”. Among the text’s innovations was the invitation to live and practice Marian devotion in everyday places, in ordinary life, not necessarily in church, «to sanctify that place and regulate our actions as though they were performed under the purest eyes of the Blessed Virgin». Father Dionisi’s proposed structure is simple: prayer (preferably the Rosary) before an image of the Virgin, meditations on the eternal mysteries, a small sacrifice or act of devotion, and an aspiration.

In 1785, another Jesuit, Father Alfonso Muzzarelli, published “The Month of Mary, or of May”.
Marian devotion received a new impulse through Pope Pius IX’s proclamation of the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception on December 8, 1854, and grew through the immense love for the Virgin shown by saints such as Saint John Bosco, who in 1858 published his text “The Month of May Consecrated to Mary Most Holy Immaculate for the Use of the People”. Don Bosco put into writing a daily meditation for each day of the month of May.
We also remember Saint Louis Mary Grignion de Montfort with his “True Devotion to Mary”

May, the month of Mary

Moving forward, we come to April 29, 1965, when Pope Paul VI officially dedicated this month to Mary with the encyclical Mense Maio, which states: «The month in which, in churches and in the home, the most fervent and affectionate tribute of prayer and veneration rises from the hearts of Christians to Mary. It is also the month in which the gifts of divine mercy flow to us more abundantly and generously from her throne».

In the same document, the Pope explains the role played by the Virgin in the economy of salvation: «Therefore, this pious practice of the month of May, so honorable for the Virgin and so rich in spiritual fruits for the Christian people, is very pleasing and consoling to us. For Mary is always the road that leads to Christ. Every encounter with her cannot fail to become an encounter with Christ himself. And what else does our constant turning to Mary mean, if not seeking, in her arms, in her and through her and with her, Christ our Savior, to whom people, amid the confusion and dangers of this world, have the duty and feel the unceasing need to turn, as to a harbor of salvation and as to a transcendent source of life?».

How to live the month of May in love for Mary

There are countless prayers for the Marian month, precisely because devotion to the Mother of Jesus during this particular month has developed over the centuries.
First of all, let us remember that Pope Francis invites us to hold a marathon of prayer with the Rosary. In a handwritten message, he stated: «The Rosary is the prayer of my heart».
This is an important message from the Holy Father, who we know has a very strong Marian devotion. Among all the prayers of the Church, the Rosary is probably the most familiar and dear to everyone, as well as «the prayer of ordinary people and saints», as the Pope further recalled. The Rosary is a prayer that allows us to reflect, to review a little of the Lord’s life and Mary’s presence in the various mysteries. At the same time, it is a prayer we can also pray when we are tired, offering our petitions to the Lord for particular intentions.

A good way to contemplate and pray to Mary in the month of May is to let ourselves be accompanied by a saint who loved Mary deeply, Saint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori: in the book “The Month of May with the Glories of Mary”, we have the opportunity to meditate and pray each day of the month with his guidance!
A very widespread devotional practice in May is the offering of little flowers to Our Lady. These are small sacrifices, commitments, and resolutions offered to the Virgin Mary as though we were giving her a flower. A sign of our love for her and for Jesus, her Son.
Naturally, the Rosary is the best expression of devotion that can be practiced in the month of May.

How can we explain to children that May is a month dedicated to Our Lady?

First of all, we need to explain to them that the month of May is dedicated to Mary, the mother of Jesus, because it is the month of flowers, when nature awakens to new life after the harshness of winter. And Mary is the most beautiful among flowers, the first to bloom after Christ’s resurrection, thanks to his promise of salvation for all people.

We can then explain to children how the prayer of the Rosary came about and tell them that in ancient times, children like them placed crowns of roses on statues of the Virgin. Each rose symbolized a prayer, and from those roses the beads of the Rosary originated. We must also remind them, especially the youngest children, that Our Lady is not only Jesus’ mother, but the mother of us all, the most beautiful, gentle, and loving, constantly reaching out to all her children to protect them, console them, and care for them even in the most difficult moments.