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Image : The Virgin and Child (The Madonna of the Rose) (Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

The Feast of the Most Holy Name of the Blessed Virgin Mary is an optional memorial celebrated in the liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church on 12 September. This feast is a counterpart to the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus; both have the possibility of uniting people easily divided on other matters.

The feast of the Most Holy Name of Mary began in Spain in 1513 and in 1671 was extended to all of Spain and the Kingdom of Naples. In 1683, John Sobieski, king of Poland, brought an army to the outskirts of Vienna to stop the advance of Muslim armies loyal to Mohammed IV of Constantinople. After Sobieski entrusted himself to the Blessed Virgin Mary, he and his soldiers thoroughly defeated the Muslims. Pope Innocent XI in 1684 extended this feast to the entire Church.

It was removed from the current Church calendar in the liturgical reform following Vatican II, but it was restored by Pope John Paul II in 2002 along with the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus in January.

- Article by Catholic Time Staff