Lives Of The Saints
September 12
The Holy Name of Mary
This feast honors the Holy Name of Mary with reverence and restraint. It explains why the Church cherishes the name, while keeping clear boundaries about what can and cannot be said with certainty.
The Immaculate Conception, Guido Reni (1627)
Brief life
The feast of the Holy Name of Mary is shaped by gratitude. The Church honors Mary's name because Mary herself is beloved, and because through her intercession Christians have long remembered the mercies of God with praise and confidence. The devotion spread widely in the West, especially after the relief of Vienna in 1683, when the Church saw fresh reason for thanksgiving. Yet reverence is kept free from pious looseness.
The exact derivation and meaning of Mary's Hebrew name cannot be settled with certainty, and the feast does not pretend otherwise. Its strength lies somewhere simpler and deeper. Mary's name is dear because her person is dear, and Christians have learned to say it with trust, affection, and hope.
Historical note
Because Butler’s Holy Name of Mary entry is a feast meditation rather than a normal life, this page keeps the main line: Marian intercession, thanksgiving, liturgical history, and Butler’s caution about the exact meaning of the name Mary.
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Nearby saint lives
Move through the calendar without leaving the saint library. These nearby feast-day lives help keep the reading trail connected.
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Related novenas
If this life stirred a particular need, these are the best nearby novenas in the library.
Novena to the Most Holy Name of Mary
Help in temptation, loving invocation of Mary's name, perseverance through life, and grace at the hour of death.
Assumption Novena
Prayed for hope in eternal life, grace for a holy death, victory over sin, and stronger trust in Mary’s heavenly intercession.
Holy Name of Jesus Novena
Prayed for greater devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus, help in temptation, consolation in danger, and love for the Savior’s Name.