Mary in Sacred Scripture: the biblical foundations of Mariology

Mariology has its most solid foundations in Sacred Scripture. Before being a systematic theological discipline, reflection on Mary begins in the pages of the New Testament and finds its roots in the prophetic texts of the Old Testament. To understand Mary in the Bible is to understand the central place she occupies in God’s plan of salvation, from creation to the end of time.

Mary in the Old Testament: the prophetic prefigurations

Although the Old Testament does not mention Mary by name, Christian tradition identifies in it several prefigurations and prophecies that Marian theology has developed over the centuries. The most famous is the Protoevangelium (Genesis 3:15): “I will put enmity between you and the woman, between your seed and her seed.” Patristic and medieval exegesis saw in this “woman” a reference to Mary, whose offspring, Christ, would crush the head of the serpent.

Another central passage is Isaiah 7:14: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and she shall give him the name Emmanuel.” The Gospel of Matthew (1:22-23) explicitly cites this text as fulfilled in the virginal conception of Jesus by Mary. The figure of the Ark of the Covenant, which carried the Word of God, is likewise read by the Fathers of the Church as a prefiguration of Mary, who received the incarnate Word in her womb.

Mary in the Gospel of Luke: Annunciation, Visitation, and Magnificat

The Gospel of Luke offers the richest account of Mary in the infancy of Jesus. The Annunciation (Lk 1:26-38) is the Marian text par excellence: the archangel Gabriel addresses Mary with the greeting “Full of grace” (kecharitomene in Greek), a perfect participle that expresses a permanent state of fullness of grace. Her Fiat, “Let it be done to me according to your word” (Lk 1:38), is the model of total availability to the will of God.

The Visitation (Lk 1:39-56) presents Mary as the new Ark of the Covenant who carries Christ to Elizabeth: Mary’s journey up into the hill country recalls the course of the Ark described in 2 Samuel 6. The Magnificat (Lk 1:46-55), Mary’s great canticle, is one of the most beautiful compositions of the New Testament, woven from quotations of the Old Testament, especially from the canticle of Hannah (1 Samuel 2:1-10). The Magnificat reveals Mary as a prophetess, spokeswoman of the hope of the poor of Israel, and it is studied in detail in the article on the Magnificat, canticle of Mary.

Mary in the Gospel of John: Cana, Calvary, and the Johannine perspective

The Gospel of John presents Mary in two decisive episodes, structurally placed at the beginning and at the end of the ministry of Jesus. At Cana (Jn 2:1-12), Mary intercedes with Jesus for the couple who have no wine and, by her word of faith, brings about the first sign. The answer of Jesus, “Woman, what have you to do with me? My hour has not yet come,” joins Mary’s intercession to the “hour” of the glorification of Christ on the Cross.

At Calvary (Jn 19:25-27), Jesus entrusts Mary to the beloved disciple with the words “Woman, behold your son,” and to the disciple, “Behold your Mother.” The Marian Theology of the Johannine tradition sees in this episode the institution of Mary’s spiritual motherhood toward the whole Church. The “beloved disciple” represents all the disciples of Christ, and Mary becomes the mother of all who believe. This reading, developed by the great theologians of the twentieth century, lies at the heart of contemporary Mariological reflection.

Mary in the Acts of the Apostles: Pentecost

The Acts of the Apostles mention Mary in a single passage, but one of great symbolic density. After the Ascension of Jesus, the apostles return to Jerusalem and “devoted themselves with one accord to prayer, together with some women, with Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren” (Acts 1:14). Mary is present in the upper room at the moment of waiting for the Holy Spirit. In her prayer with the apostles, she is the figure of the Church at prayer, awaiting the promised gift.

This presence of Mary at Pentecost is theologically significant: she who had conceived Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit (Lk 1:35) is present when that same Spirit is poured out upon the nascent Church. The Second Vatican Council, in Lumen Gentium §59, underscores this continuity: Mary, who cooperated in the work of the redemption, now cooperates in the mission of the Church.

Mary in the Book of Revelation: the woman clothed with the sun (Rev 12)

Chapter 12 of the Book of Revelation presents one of the richest visions of the New Testament: “A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon beneath her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head.” The exegetical tradition saw in this Woman an image at once of Israel, of the Church, and of Mary. Contemporary exegesis tends to favor an ecclesial reading, but recognizes that Mary, as an eminent member of the Church, is included in this figure.

The theology of Marian apparitions frequently draws on the image of the Woman of the Book of Revelation in order to interpret the manifestations of Our Lady throughout history. The Immaculate Virgin of Lourdes and Our Lady of Fatima are presented with iconographic elements that recall Rev 12: the moon at her feet, the crown of stars, the white mantle. The Locus Mariologicus Institute, in Fatima, explores this reading more deeply in the context of biblical and systematic Mariology. For academic formation in this field, see the Postgraduate Program in Mariology.

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