On March 3, 2018, Pope Francis announced that a new memorial would be added to the General Roman Calendar and celebrated on the Monday after Pentecost, entitled “The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church” (Lat. B. Mariæ Virginis, Ecclesiæ Matris). Pope Francis decreed that the ancient devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, under the title of Mother of the Church, would be inserted into the Roman Calendar. The decree highlights the divine motherhood of Mary that is the cause of her intimate union in the work of her Son, the Redeemer. Scripture, the decree says, depicts Mary at the foot of the Cross (cf. Jn 19:25). There she became the Mother of the Church when Mary “accepted her Son’s testament of love and welcomed all people in the person of the beloved disciple as sons and daughters to be reborn unto life eternal.”
Development of the Marian Title – Mother of the Church
In 1964, Pope Saint Paul VI promulgated the Vatican II document known as Lumen Gentium or the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church. After presenting a complete picture of the mystery of the Church, the final chapter of that constitution presents “The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God in the Mystery of Christ and the Church.” That chapter highlights her singularly unique and maternal role within the Church. Lumen Gentium did not go so far as to ascribe the title “Mother of the Church” to the Blessed Mother, but the document did go into great detail about her maternal role within the Church. Four years later, in a motu proprio letter announcing the Credo of the People of God, Pope Saint Paul VI referenced Lumen Gentium and took it a step further by bestowing upon the Mother of God the title Mother of the Church saying, “…we believe that the Blessed Mother of God, the New Eve, Mother of the Church, continues in heaven her maternal role with regard to Christ’s members, cooperating with the birth and growth of divine life in the souls of the redeemed” (Solemni Hac Liturgia, n. 15).
This fixed celebration honoring Mary will help the Church to never forget that growth in the Christian life must be anchored in the Mystery of the Cross, to the oblation of Christ in the Eucharistic Banquet and, as the Mother of the Redeemer and Mother of the Redeemed, the Blessed Virgin Mary makes her offering to God. It is significant that Mary, as Mother of God, was entrusted to the Church in the person of Saint John the Apostle at the foot of the Cross. From the Cross, the Church was conceived by the outpouring of grace that flowed from Jesus’ Sacred Heart. On Pentecost, our Blessed Mother was present as the Church was born.
Prayer to Mary, Mother of the Church
Most glorious Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, to you I entrust myself just as Jesus entrusted John to your care. Receive me as your spiritual child, and nurture me with your Son’s divine grace. Thank you for your “Yes” to the Father’s plan for your life and for your continuous “Yes” through time and eternity. May my “Yes” echo yours as I surrender fully to God’s plan. Mother Mary, Mother of the Church, pray for me. Jesus, I trust in You. Amen.
Nature and dignity 