Spe salvi: Benedict XVI’s encyclical on Mary, the star of hope (Full text)

Spe Salvi

A second Encyclical of Pope Benedict XVI

Spe Salvi is the second Encyclical of Pope Benedict XVI, published on November 30, 2007, the Solemnity of Christ the King (Dominica XXXIV per annum). It is a profound biblical, philosophical, and theological meditation on Christian hope, with a concluding chapter dedicated to Mary as the “Star of Hope”, one of the most beautiful pages of contemporary Mariology.

Author

Pope Benedict XVI (Joseph Ratzinger)

Type

Encyclical Letter

Date

November 30, 2007

Theme

Christian hope, Mary as the Star of Hope

Incipit

Spe Salvi (“Saved in Hope”)

Source

AAS 99 (2007) 985-1027

Historical Context

Pope Benedict XVI is one of the foremost Mariologists of the post-conciliar period. As Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, he played a decisive role in the drafting of *Redemptoris Mater*. In *Spe Salvi*, after concluding an extensive reflection on hope from Paul, through Augustine, Thomas, and modern philosophy, up to death and judgment, the Pope dedicates the final chapter (nn. 49-50) to Mary as the “Star of Hope”, a great image of traditional Mariology.

Original Latin Text, Chapter “Maria, stella spei” (nn. 49-50)

> BENEDICTUS PP. XVI

Mary, Virgin and Mother, reveals to us what hope is, and what it means to live from hope. She held the “word” that was announced to her by the angel, and meditated on it in her heart. Believing in the God who was to come, believing in the Incarnation of the Word, which she received with voice and heart, she opened the door to a new hope, which all the centuries before had awaited.

We call her the “star of hope”, as Bernard writes, the star of the sea. “Look to the star, invoke Mary”. In the star, we can navigate through the darkness of the sea, in Mary, the star of hope, we follow the path of faith and hope in the darkness of this age, until we reach the port of eternal salvation.

This hope is at once personal and communal: it is not solitary, but is the hope of the Body of Christ, the Church, of which Mary is the most excellent type and example. Because Mary believed fully in God, because she kept His word and meditated on it in her heart, because by faith she became Mother of God, she shows us the way of hope: to listen, to believe, to carry.

“Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you”. In this angelic salutation, the whole mystery of hope is contained: God’s grace, the Lord’s presence, is fully Mary. And therefore our hope, this alone does not confuse, has its root and foundation in her: because God is present in her, because the Word became flesh in her, because our hope became flesh in her.

“«Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you.» In this angelic salutation lies contained the whole mystery of hope: God’s grace, the Lord’s presence; Mary is full. And thus our hope, this one that does not confuse, has its root and foundation in her: for God is present in her, for the Word became flesh in her, for our hope became flesh in her.”

«Stella Maris», the Patristic Image

The image of Mary as “Stella Maris” (Star of the Sea) dates back to Saint Jerome and Saint Isidore of Seville, who interpreted the name “Miriam” as “a drop from the sea” or “a star of the sea.” The image became classic in Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (12th century), who dedicated a beautiful sermon to it: “Look to the star, invoke Mary. In dangers, in distress, in doubts, think of Mary, invoke Mary.” *Spe Salvi* recovers this image and gives it theological depth: Mary is not merely a poetic guide, but the historical reality where Christian hope has its ontological foundation.

Theological Meaning

Bento XVI’s mariology is essentially a mariology of faith: Mary is “blessed because she believed” (Luke 1:45). The Pope reprises and deepens this Joannine-Pauline category (cf. *Redemptoris Mater*, n. 14) and adds to it the dimension of hope: Mary not only believed, but she hoped, she hoped in the darkness of faith, under the cross, on Holy Saturday, and was confirmed in the Resurrection. She is the model of hope that “does not confuse” (Romans 5:5), because it is founded not on human promises but on the incarnate Word of God.

Complementary Reading

* Dive deeper: Explore *Mariology*, *Dogmas Marian*, *Redemptoris Mater*, *Lumen Gentium* chapter VIII, and *Post-Graduate Mariology*.