When I was younger, my mother gave me a keepsake-a St. Mary medal. She had been raised a Roman Catholic, while I was raised a Baptist.
So, she was showing me the features of it, and she noted the ‘M’ on the back of it, with a cross on top of the M, surrounded by stars. I have seen this on other Mary medals, so I know I haven’t imagined it. At any rate, she told me of some liturgy/chant/poem/somethinglikethat which she and her contemporaries said after their Hail Marys. I, naturally, forgot the specifics, but it seems to me that it was something like this: “Hail Mary, who carries the cross; and thirteen bright stars…”
Or, something like that. She was born in Ireland, in the 30s, so it was at least common in her town among her cohort.
Sounds like a Miraculous Medal. Miraculous Medal - Wikipedia
Image: File:Miraculous medal.jpg - Wikipedia
I have heard the words inscribed on the border of the medal (“Oh Mary conceived without sin/pray for us who have recourse to thee”) used after Hail Marys in rosaries.
I’ve not heard any references to “carrying the cross” or “thirteen bright stars”. The image of the Virgin, crowned with twelve stars, is a common representation of the Assumption/Coronation of the Virgin: link. A litany, the Crown of Twelve Stars may be what you recall.
Perhaps the Magnificat, the prayer that Mary is supposed to have composed when she visited her cousin Elizabeth and heard about her concurrent (and miraculous) pregnancy:
Well, I distinctly remember the “…Mary, who carries the cross…” and some mention of the 12 stars… in it.
At this point, I suspect it was something from her school, church, or hometown.
