Popes of the Thirteenth-Fifteenth Centuries: rosary, scapular, and the Immaculate Conception (Doctrina Pontificia IV, nn. 122-143)

The thirteenth-century popes recorded in the Doctrina Pontificia IV, from Innocent IV (1243) to Eugene IV (1447), witnessed the birth and growth of two great Marian devotions: the Rosary and the controversy over the Immaculate Conception. The Council of Basel (1439) went so far as to define the Immaculate, but as a schismatic assembly without authority. The Council of Florence (1438-1445) reaffirmed the traditional faith.

Innocent IV (1243-1254), nn. 122-125: scapular and rosary

Innocent IV is the pope of Marian documents that cover the emerging devotions of the thirteenth century:

• n. 122 (Brief Quoniam, 1244): Feast of the Nativity of Mary, the pope reaffirms the liturgical obligation of the feast
• n. 123: Approval of the Feast of the Nativity of Mary in the universal liturgy
• n. 124: Carmelite Scapular, papal approval of the Carmelites’ Marian scapular devotion
• n. 125 (Brief Quae honorem, 1247): Confirmation of the scapular and of the devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Urban IV (1261-1264), nn. 126-127: rosary and the virtues of Mary

Urban IV, the pope who instituted Corpus Christi, is also the pope of the first pontifical document on the Rosary (n. 127). The text praises the virtue of the Rosary as a prayer that unites the contemplation of the mysteries of the life of Christ to the intercession of Mary:

“Corona rosaria, qua Virginem colimus, misterium Incarnationis et vitae Iesu Christi nobis commendat”

The crown of the Rosary, with which we venerate the Virgin, commends to us the mystery of the Incarnation and of the life of Jesus Christ.

John XXII (1316-1334), n. 132: the Assumption of Mary

John XXII, pope of Avignon, is one of the first popes to develop ex professo the doctrine of Mary’s Assumption. His document n. 132 affirms that Mary was assumed body and soul into Heaven, a doctrine that will be dogmatically defined by Pius XII in 1950. John XXII has recourse to the arguments of fittingness (it was fitting that Mary’s body should not undergo corruption) that will be central in the Bull Munificentissimus Deus.

Council of Basel (1439), nn. 137-138: the Immaculate Conception

The Council of Basel, in 1439, solemnly defined the Immaculate Conception as a truth of faith. But note: this Council had become schismatic by electing an antipope (Felix V), thus losing all its dogmatic authority. Its definition of the Immaculate (n. 137) is historically notable, but has no ecclesially binding dogmatic value. It would be the Bull Ineffabilis Deus of Pius IX (1854) that finally defined this dogma with irreformable pontifical authority.

Council of Florence (1438-1445), nn. 139-143

The Council of Florence, the only legitimate ecumenical council of the period, dealt principally with the union with the Orthodox and the Armenians. Its Marian documents (nn. 139-143) include the Bull Exultate Deo and the Bull Cantate Domino, which contains Marian professions of faith for the Churches reunited with Rome, affirming the divine motherhood and perpetual virginity.

Further reading

Explore Mariology, Ineffabilis Deus, Rosarium Virginis Mariae, and the Postgraduate Program in Mariology.

Learn to pray the Rosary in our guide: How to Pray the Rosary, Step by Step.

Learn more about the Immaculate Conception.