This feast was established by Pope Urban VI in 1389 in order to bring the Great Schism to an end through the intercession of Mary. It originated in Byzantium when, on 2 July, the Gospel of Mary’s visit to Elizabeth was read on the Feast of the “Deposition in the Basilica of the Holy Garment of the Theotokos”. The Franciscans adopted this Marian feast day in 1263, calling it the Visitation of Mary. After the liturgical reform of the Second Vatican Council, the date for the feast was fixed on 31 May, at the end of the month dedicated to Mary.
Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” (Lk. 1:39-42)