The devotion originated during a period of considerable uncertainty in the Holy Land. Following the First World War and the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, the region came under British administration through the Mandate for Palestine. Political tensions and social unrest caused widespread concern, particularly for the Christian communities whose roots in the land reach back to apostolic times.
In 1920, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop Luigi (Louis) Barlassina, invoked the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title Queen of Palestine. Desiring to establish a lasting centre of prayer and charity, he founded a sanctuary at Deir Rafat, a village west of Jerusalem. The complex, established in 1927, included a church, monastery, and orphanage. It became a place where the faithful could seek spiritual consolation and entrust the needs of the Holy Land to the Mother of God.
In 1933, Archbishop Barlassina instituted October 25 as the feast of Our Lady, Queen of Palestine, with the approval of the Holy See. Deir Rafat subsequently became an important destination for pilgrims, and the devotion spread among Catholics both in the Holy Land and throughout the world.
The title Queen of Palestine must be understood in its historical and religious context. At the time the devotion developed, Palestine was the established geographical and official name of the territory under the British Mandate. The title was not intended as a political declaration or as an endorsement of any particular national movement or territorial claim. Rather, it expressed the Church’s devotion to Mary and her special relationship with the land where the mysteries of our salvation unfolded: Nazareth, Bethlehem, Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem.
The name therefore reflects the terminology of its historical period and the spiritual significance of the Holy Land. It does not determine questions of sovereignty, national identity, or modern political boundaries. Its purpose is devotional and pastoral: to commend the land and all its inhabitants to Mary’s maternal care and to pray for peace among its peoples.
The title has a particular significance for the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre, whose mission is to support the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and sustain Christian life in the Holy Land. On January 21, 1994, Pope St. John Paul II formally proclaimed Our Lady, Queen of Palestine, Patroness of the Order.
Her feast is thus both a celebration of Marian devotion and a call to prayer, charity, and practical solidarity with the Christian communities of the Holy Land. Under Mary's protection, the Knights and Dames are encouraged to serve the Church and work for reconciliation and peace among all who inhabit this sacred land.
Please pray for the Christians of the Holy Land.
O Mary Immaculate, gracious Queen of Heaven and Earth, we are prostrate at your feet, sure of your goodness and confident in your power.
We beg you to look kindly on the Holy Land, which, more than any other country, belongs to you since you have honored it by your birth, your virtues and your pain, and that it is here where you gave the Savior of the World.
Remember that you were made Mother and dispenser of graces. Deign to grant special protection to your earthly homeland to dispel the darkness of the error, so that the sun of eternal justice may shine on it and that the promise, fallen from the lips of your divine Son to form one flock under the guidance of one shepherd, may be fulfilled.
Obtain us to serve the Lord in righteousness and holiness, every day of our lives, so that by the merits of Jesus, with your maternal protection, we can pass from the earthly Jerusalem to the splendors of the heavenly Jerusalem.