Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows to be Celebrated on September 15

On September 15, the Catholic Church commemorates the Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows, a day to reflect upon the sorrows Mary experienced as the mother of Christ and how we can follow her example. Even though Mary experienced the pain of seeing her beloved son crucified, she never stopped trusting in God.

Reflecting on the feast, Pope Francis has said, "Mary, Mother of Sorrows, remains at the foot the cross. She simply stands there. She does not run away, or try to save herself, or find ways to alleviate her grief. Here is the proof of true compassion: to remain standing beneath the cross.”

A devotion to Mary, Our Lady of Sorrows, first began to grow in popularity in the Mediterranean around the 11th century. Then, in the 13th century, the Servants of the Blessed Virgin Mary devoted their newly formed order to the Seven Sorrows of Mary, which are the Prophecy of Simeon in which he tells her that a sword would pierce her, the flight into Egypt, the disappearance of the child Jesus for three days, meeting Jesus on the way to Calvary, the crucifixion, Jesus being taken down from the cross, and his burial.

In 1692, Pope Innocent XII authorized a celebration of the feast on the third Sunday of September. It was later transferred to the Friday before Palm Sunday. However, in 1814, Pope Pius VII moved the feast back to September, while extending it to the entire Church. A century later, Pope Pius X fixed the date as September 15, the day after the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.

Pope Pius VII also approved a series of meditations on the Seven Sorrows of Mary. They and other resources may be found at https://portlanddiocese.org/memorial-our-lady-sorrows.