Feast of the Visitation: Gospel, Meaning and Prayer

The Visitation is the visit of the Virgin Mary, newly pregnant with Jesus, to her elderly cousin Elizabeth, who was expecting John the Baptist. When Mary greeted her, the child in Elizabeth’s womb leaped for joy, Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and cried out “Blessed art thou among women,” and Mary answered with the Magnificat. The Church celebrates the Feast of the Visitation on May 31, at the end of Mary’s month of May, and meditates on it in the second Joyful Mystery of the Rosary.

The Gospel of the Visitation

St. Luke tells the story right after the Annunciation (Luke 1:39–45):

And Mary rising up in those days, went into the hill country with haste into a city of Juda.
And she entered into the house of Zachary, and saluted Elizabeth.
And it came to pass, that when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the infant leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost:
And she cried out with a loud voice, and said: Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For behold as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
And blessed art thou that hast believed, because those things shall be accomplished that were spoken to thee by the Lord.

Mary then sang her great hymn of praise, “My soul doth magnify the Lord” (Luke 1:46–55). See the Magnificat. She stayed with Elizabeth about three months, probably until John was born, before returning home to Nazareth.

What the Visitation means

Charity in haste. As soon as Mary learned that her elderly cousin was expecting, she set out “with haste” on a journey of several days through the hill country to help her. The Visitation is a model of practical love.
Mary, the first to carry Christ to others. Carrying the Son of God in her womb, Mary brings him to Elizabeth’s house, and his presence sanctifies John before birth. Every Christian who brings Christ to others imitates her.
The first witness of the unborn. John the Baptist, still unborn, recognizes the unborn Jesus and leaps for joy. The scene is a beloved image of the dignity of life in the womb.
The words of the Hail Mary. Elizabeth’s greeting, “Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb,” became part of the Hail Mary, right after the angel’s greeting.
The Ark of the Covenant. Church Fathers saw in Mary the new Ark: as David danced before the Ark and asked “How shall the ark of the Lord come to me?” (2 Kings 6:9, Douay), so John leaps before Mary and Elizabeth asks “whence is this to me?”

History of the feast

The Franciscans kept a feast of the Visitation from 1263, and Pope Urban VI extended it to the whole Church in 1389, praying for an end to the Great Western Schism. For centuries it was celebrated on July 2, after the octave of the birth of John the Baptist. The 1969 calendar reform moved it to May 31, between the Annunciation (March 25) and the birth of John the Baptist (June 24), which fits the Gospel’s order of events.

The prayer of the feast

The Collect of the Visitation in the traditional Roman Missal:

We beseech thee, O Lord, to bestow on thy servants the gift of heavenly grace that this devotional feast of the Visitation may be the means of confirming peace in all to whom the childbirth of the Blessed Virgin is the beginning of salvation. Through Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God world without end. Amen.

A prayer for the Visitation

Written for this page:

Holy Mary, you hurried to serve your cousin and carried Jesus into her home.
Teach me to notice the people around me who need help, and to go to them without delay.
Let Christ’s presence in me bring joy to others, as it did to Elizabeth and John.
Bless every mother who is expecting a child, and every child in the womb. Amen.

Frequently asked questions

When is the Feast of the Visitation?

May 31. Before 1969 it was kept on July 2, and the older calendar still uses that date.

Is the Visitation a holy day of obligation?

No. It is a feast of the Roman calendar, but not a day of obligation.

Which mystery of the Rosary is the Visitation?

The second Joyful Mystery. See the mysteries of the Rosary.

Who did Mary visit?

Her cousin (or kinswoman) Elizabeth, wife of the priest Zachary, who in her old age was expecting John the Baptist.

More Marian pages

Texts and sources

Luke 1:39–56 and 2 Kings 6:9 (Douay-Rheims).
Collect: The Mass Every Day of the Year (1916 daily missal), July 2, public domain (archive.org). OCR errors corrected.