Bishop Donald Hying of the Diocese of Madison on Sunday sent out a tweet to thank mothers for all they do.

"Prayers and blessings to all mothers today!” he tweeted. “By nurturing and giving life to your children, you bless and multiply humanity! Thank you for your love, sacrifice and generosity. You are signs to us of God‘s mercy and goodness. Happy Mother’s Day! 

Catholics hold mothers in high esteem, and even though Mother’s Day is a secular holiday, they show their respect for mothers another way, using its devotion to Mary, Mother of God, to apply to all mothers, according to Fr. Jim Hinkle of St. Theresa Parish. The Church celebrates Mary on various holidays throughout the year, including during twice during the month of May. These celebrations of Mary are, in a way, celebrations of all mothers, Hinkle said. 

Popes have also demonstrated the importance of loving and respecting mothers.

"Today is Mother’s Day in many countries,” Pope Francis tweeted this year. “Let us affectionately remember our mothers, even those who are no longer with us down here, but who live in our hearts. Our prayer, our affection, and our best wishes for all our mothers.” 

In the recent past, St. Pope John Paul II wrote about mothers and their role in society and religion.

"Motherhood has been introduced into the order of the Covenant that God made with humanity in Jesus Christ,” he wrote. “Each and every time that motherhood is repeated in human history, it is always related to the Covenant which God established with the human race through the motherhood of the Mother of God.”