Saint John XXIII – the Mariology of the good pope: Mater et magistra, pacem in terris, aeterna dei
Saint John XXIII (1958-1963), the “Good Pope,” is traditionally associated with the opening of the Second Vatican Council and with the encyclical Pacem in Terris. Less well known is his Mariology: profoundly traditional, simple, personally felt, and always present in his great social encyclicals.
| Pope | Saint John XXIII (Angelo Roncalli, 1958-1963) |
| Key encyclicals | Mater et Magistra (1961) | Pacem in Terris (1963) | Aeterna Dei (1961) |
| Topic | Mary, mother of the Church and of peace, Mary simple and close |
Mater et Magistra (May 15, 1961), Marian conclusion
The social encyclical Mater et Magistra on the development of social relations concludes with an invocation of Mary, a tradition of the social encyclicals that would be kept by all of John XXIII’s successors:
“Beatissima Virgo Maria, Mater Dei et nostra… afflictis spes, languentibus salus, lapsis erectio, christianorum auxilium, mortis adversitatibusque periclitantium praesentissimum patrocinium, tueatur omnes, omnibus auxilium impertiat…”
The Most Holy Virgin Mary, Mother of God and ours… hope of the afflicted, health of the sick, raising up of the fallen, help of Christians, most present patronage of those in danger from adversities and from death, may she protect all, may she grant help to all.
Pacem in Terris (April 11, 1963), the encyclical of peace
Pacem in Terris, published after the Cuban missile crisis (October 1962) and addressed for the first time “to all men of good will” (not only to Catholics), likewise concludes with an invocation of Mary as Queen of Peace:
“A Domino implorent, ut a Beatissima Virgine Maria, Pacis Regina ac Mater dulcissima, populis omnibus illud divinum munus, quo gentes ipsae componuntur, fructus pacis caelestis, large concedat…”
Let them implore the Lord that, through the Most Holy Virgin Mary, Queen of Peace and most sweet Mother, He may generously grant to all peoples that divine gift by which the nations themselves are reconciled, the fruit of heavenly peace…
Aeterna Dei Sapientia (November 11, 1961), encyclical on Saint Leo the Great
John XXIII published this encyclical for the fifteenth centenary of the death of Saint Leo I (461). The text is a dense account of the Mariology of Leo the Great: the Theotokos, virginity in partu, the Incarnation of the Word from Mary. John XXIII takes the anniversary as an opportunity to reappropriate the patristic tradition of the divine motherhood as the foundation of ecumenical unity between Rome and the Christian East.
Opening address of the Second Vatican Council (October 11, 1962), feast of the divine motherhood
John XXIII solemnly opened the Second Vatican Council on October 11, 1962, a date that was then the feast of the Divine Motherhood of Mary (later transferred to January 1). This date was not accidental: the Council was born under the explicit patronage of Mary Theotokos. In the address Gaudet Mater Ecclesia, the pope recalled that the Council of Ephesus (431), which defined the Theotokos, likewise opened a path to ecumenical unity.
The significance of John XXIII’s Mariology
The Mariology of the Good Pope is that of the “simple Christian,” without great theoretical innovations but with a profound filial devotion. John XXIII handed on traditional Mariology in the modern keys of his social encyclicals, showing that Mary is no stranger to social problems and to world peace. He prepared the ground for chapter VIII of Lumen Gentium.
Further reading
Mariology | Lumen Gentium ch. VIII | Marialis Cultus | Postgraduate Program in Mariology
Postgraduate Program in Mariology
Would you like to deepen your formation in Mariology? Discover the Postgraduate Program in Mariology of Locus Mariologicus – an academic formation that unites theological rigor, spiritual life, and the living tradition of the Church.
Would you like to study Mariology seriously?
This article grows out of the works in the Locus Mariologicus library. The Postgraduate Program in Mariology brings you to the same source, with academic guidance: Scripture, the Fathers of the Church, and the Magisterium, from the first dogma to contemporary questions.
Responses