Mary Help of Christians: the title, the feast of May 24, and Don Bosco
Mary Help of Christians – Our Lady, Help of Christians – is one of the most widespread Marian invocations, especially through the work of Saint…
Category: Mariological Dictionary
The Holy Name of Mary: meaning and feast (September 12)
The Holy Name of Mary is the object of its own liturgical feast, celebrated on September 12, four days after the Nativity of Mary. Devotion…
Saint Anne and Saint Joachim: the parents of Mary
Saint Anne and Saint Joachim are, according to the tradition of the Church, the parents of the Virgin Mary and the grandparents of Jesus. Although…
Saint Joseph: spouse of Mary and patron of the Church
Saint Joseph, spouse of the Virgin Mary and legal father of Jesus, is one of the most venerated figures of the Church and its universal…
Mary in the Book of Revelation: the woman clothed with the sun (Rev 12)
Mary in the Book of Revelation is one of the most magnificent pages of Marian Scripture. In chapter 12, Saint John contemplates “a great sign…
Mary and the Holy Spirit: the Annunciation, Pentecost, and the sanctuary of the Spirit
The relationship between Mary and the Holy Spirit lies at the heart of the mystery of the Incarnation: it was by the action of the…
Consecration to Mary: the “Totus Tuus” and true devotion
Consecration to Mary is the total giving of oneself to Jesus Christ through Mary. Far from being a devotion that rivals Christ, it is a…
Mary, the Daughter of Zion: The Biblical Title and Its Meaning
Mary, the Daughter of Zion, is one of the richest biblical titles in Mariology. In Sacred Scripture, “Daughter of Zion” (in Hebrew, Bat-Sion) designates Jerusalem…
The Presentation of Mary in the Temple (November 21)
The Presentation of Mary in the Temple is celebrated on November 21 and recalls the tradition according to which Mary, while still a little girl,…
The Nativity of Mary: The Birth of Our Lady (September 8)
The Nativity of Mary – the birth of Our Lady – is celebrated on September 8 and is one of the oldest Marian feasts. The…
Mary Co-Redemptrix: What the Title Means (and What It Does Not Mean)
Co-Redemptrix is one of the most debated Marian titles: it expresses Mary’s singular cooperation in the work of redemption accomplished by Christ. The prefix “co-”…
Mary, the New Eve: The Eve-Mary Typology in the Fathers of the Church
Mary, the New Eve, is one of the oldest keys for reading the figure of Mary in the Christian tradition. Already in the first centuries,…
Mary at the Foot of the Cross (Jn 19:25-27): “Woman, Behold Your Son”
Mary at the Foot of the Cross (Jn 19:25-27) is one of the densest scenes in the Gospel of Saint John: in the last moments…
The Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth (Lk 1:39-56): The Encounter and Its Meaning
The Visitation (Lk 1:39-56) narrates Mary’s journey, right after the Annunciation, to visit her kinswoman Elizabeth, who was expecting John the Baptist. It is one…
The Magnificat: The Canticle of Mary (Lk 1:46-55), Structure and Meaning
The Magnificat is the canticle of praise that Mary sings when she visits her kinswoman Elizabeth (Lk 1:46-55). Beginning with the words “My soul magnifies…
The Annunciation to Mary (Lk 1:26-38): The Text and Its Meaning
The Annunciation to Mary (Lk 1:26-38) is the moment in which the angel Gabriel announces to Mary that she will be the Mother of the…
The Queenship of Mary: Why Mary Is Queen of Heaven and Earth
The Queenship of Mary – the truth that Mary is Queen of Heaven and Earth – is one of the oldest and most cherished expressions…
Mary Mediatrix of All Graces: What the Church Teaches
What Mary Mediatrix of All Graces means: the Catholic doctrine (Lumen Gentium 60-62), its subordination to the one mediation of Christ, and the…
Holy Maculate, what it means and the difference from the Immaculate.
Holy maculate or Immaculate: what is the difference? Understand the dogma of the Immaculate Conception and the meaning of kecharitôménē.…
Gate of Heaven, Janua Caeli: Mary as the gate of salvation
Janua Caeli, Gate of Heaven: discover the Mariological meaning of this title, between Scripture, the Litany of Loreto, and the singular…
Grace in Greek, χάρις (charis), κεχαριτωμένη (kecharitôménē) and the theology of grace
Kecharitōménē in Luke 1:28: the Greek perfect participle reveals the permanent fullness of grace in Mary. Delve deeper into mariological…
Jesus Son of Mary, the divine motherhood at the heart of the faith
Mary is the Mother of Jesus and the Mother of God. From the historical motherhood to the Theotókos of Ephesus, the spiritual motherhood in…
Theotokos (Theotókos), Mother of God: the central title of Mariology
Theotókos, Mother of God, is the central title of Mariology. It was defined at Ephesus in 431 and it grounds all Marian reflection. Look more…
The virginity of Mary, the three aspects of the dogma
Study the three aspects of the virginity of Mary, its biblical foundation and the definition of the Magisterium that sustains this central…
Mother of the Faithful People, Mater populi fidelis: title and iconography
Mother of the Faithful People, united to the Pilgrim Church. Explore the patristic origin, the iconography of Aracoeli, and the articulation…
Kecharitôménē, “Full of grace”: the Greek title of Mary in Lk 1:28
Kecharitôménē, the Greek title of Lk 1:28, reveals Mary as fully transfigured by divine grace. Delve into the biblical exegesis of this…
Angelology: What It Is, the Angelic Hierarchies, and Christian Doctrine
Angelology: the theological study of the nature, the angelic hierarchies, and the mission of the angels. Delve deeper into the teaching of the…
Mary Mediatrix: Mary’s maternal function in the history of salvation
Explore the function of Mary Mediatrix in the history of salvation: doctrine, Vatican II, and current theological perspectives. Deepen your…
Marian spirituality: living the mystery of Christ with Mary
Discover the biblical and historical foundations of Marian spirituality and learn to live the Paschal Mystery of Christ with Mary in the…
The Virginity of Mary: The Christological Sign of the Mother of God
The virginity of Mary reveals a profound Christological sign. Explore the biblical testimony and the tradition of the Church concerning this…
Trinity and Mary: Trinitarian Mariology
Trinitarian mariology reveals Mary's unique relationship with the Three Divine Persons. French school and trinitarian-marian titles. Let us…
Queen: the queenship of Mary in the Christian tradition
The queenship of Mary: from the biblical roots of the gebirah to the encyclical Ad caeli Reginam. Theological foundations of the title of…
Presence of Mary: the spiritual presence of the Mother in Christian life
Understand the presence of Mary in Christian life: from personalist philosophy to the theology of the Assumption. Mary, mother and contemporary…
Marian prayer: Mary’s model of prayer and the devotion of the Church
Discover Mary's model of prayer, from the fiat to the Upper Room, and the history of Marian prayer from the Sub tuum praesidium to the great…
Our Lady of Lourdes: the apparitions to Bernadette Soubirous
In 1858, Our Lady of Lourdes appeared to Bernadette Soubirous with a message of penance and prayer. Let us delve deeper into the meaning of the…
Mary and the laity: Mary’s lay condition and its meaning
Mary belongs to the laity and is the most perfect model of secular Christian existence. Delve deeper into her priestly, prophetic, and royal…
Immaculate Conception: the dogma and its theology
Discover the dogma of the Immaculate Conception: biblical foundations, patristic tradition, and the theology of the unique privilege granted to…
Marian icon: the theology and the types of the Eastern tradition
The Marian icon in the Eastern tradition is a sacramental and a channel of grace. Discover the great iconographic types and their profound…
Mary and Jesus Christ: the Christological foundation of Mariology
Mariology finds in Christ its essential foundation. Explore Mary’s relationship with Jesus as Mother, disciple, and associate in the work of…
Daughter of Zion: Mary as the personification of the people of God
Daughter of Zion: discover how Mary personifies the people of God, from Scripture to Vatican II, and delve deeper into the theological meaning…
Our Lady of Fatima: the message of the Immaculate Heart
Discover the message of Our Lady of Fatima to the three shepherd children in 1917: prayer, penance, and consecration to the Immaculate Heart.…
The Family of Nazareth: Mary, Joseph, and Jesus
The family of Nazareth reveals the Christian model of family life through Mary, Joseph, and Jesus. Explore more deeply the spiritual meaning of…
Mary and Evangelization: the First Evangelizer
Mary, the first evangelizer, received the Gospel at the Annunciation and proclaimed it to the world. Explore more deeply her unique role in the…
Mary and the Eucharist: the Mother Who Leads to the Bread of Life
Mary and the Eucharist are united in the mysteries of Cana and Calvary. Explore the biblical and theological foundations of this relationship…
Ecumenism and Mary: the Obstacle That Can Become a Bridge
Mary as an obstacle or a bridge in ecumenism? Examine the causes of the conflict, the inter-Christian dialogues, and the prospects for…
Mary and Israel: the Daughter of Zion as a Compendium of the People of God
Mary, Daughter of Zion, recapitulates in herself the whole Old Testament and the people of Israel. Explore the Hebrew roots of Mariology and…
Mary and the dignity of woman: the new woman beside the new man
Mary, the perfect model of the disciple, illuminates the dignity of woman in the faith. Explore the renewed reading of Mariology on Mary and…
Marian dogmas: the four dogmas of faith about Mary
The four Marian dogmas define the Catholic faith about Mary: divine motherhood, perpetual virginity, the Immaculate Conception and the…
Mary and God the Father: the beloved daughter of the Father
Mary, the beloved daughter of the Father, was chosen from eternity to cooperate in the Incarnation. Delve deeper into Trinitarian Marian…
Dedication of Saint Mary Major: the first Marian shrine of Rome
Erected in 432, after the Council of Ephesus, the Basilica of Saint Mary Major honors the Theotokos. Explore its history, art, and Marian theology.