The roots of the May devotion reach back to a Marian custom determined by devotion to the Passion, to honoring the Cross, and to prayers for good weather. Sources from the time speak of beginning May with a “spiritual May” that is, to practice a particular form of devotion to the Cross. One of the most influential representatives is the mystic, Henry Seuse (1366).
The origin of the conventional May devotion is still relatively unknown. It is certain that this form of Marian devotion began in Italy. Here, in May 1784, at the church of Camillians in Ferrara for the first time May devotions were held publicly throughout the entire month. Until then it seems that May devotions were more likely a private exercise of piety, even when also partly in a public framework. Around 1739, for instance, witnesses speak of a particular form of Marian devotion in May in Grezzano near Verona. In 1747 the Archbishop of Genoa recommended the May devotion as devotion for the home.
