Paul VI – marialis cultus (1974): original Latin text of the introduction

The Apostolic Exhortation Marialis Cultus (February 2, 1974) of Blessed Paul VI is the most important document of the post-conciliar Magisterium on devotion to the Virgin Mary. There is already a post on the document here; this post complements the previous one by providing excerpts from the Latin text of the Introduction, checked against the official Latin text on vatican.va, together with the official English translation published there.

Latin text – n. 13: introduction

Marialis cultus ut incrementis ditaretur, ex quo ad Petri cathedram sumus evecti, continenter dedimus operam; non solum scilicet Nobis in animo fuit sensum Ecclesiae circa hanc rem et internum quendam impulsum, quo permovemur, exprimere, sed ad hoc adducti sumus etiam propterea quod haec pietatis forma, quemadmodum notum est, pars eximia efficitur sacri cultus illius, in quo fastigium sapientiae et culmen religionis quasi in unum confluunt, et qui idcirco officium est praecipuum Populi Dei.

Official English translation – n. 13

From the moment when we were called to the See of Peter, we have constantly striven to enhance devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, not only with the intention of interpreting the sentiments of the Church and our own personal inclination but also because, as is well known, this devotion forms a very noble part of the whole sphere of that sacred worship in which there intermingle the highest expressions of wisdom and of religion and which is therefore the primary task of the People of God.

Latin text – n. 14: the liturgical reform

Hoc quidem officium prae oculis habentes, semper fovimus et proveximus magnum illud opus instaurationis liturgicae, a Concilio Oecumenico Vaticano Secundo susceptum, neque, procul dubio, sine peculiari divinae Providentiae consilio evenit, ut primum eiusdem universalis Synodi documentum, quod Nos una cum venerabilibus Patribus approbavimus cuique in Spiritu Sancto subscripsimus, Constitutio esset a verbis Sacrosanctum Concilium incipiens, quippe cui propositum esset Liturgiam instaurare et augere, atque fidelium participationem in divinis mysteriis magis frugiferam reddere.

Official English translation – n. 14

Precisely with a view to this task, we have always favored and encouraged the great work of liturgical reform promoted by the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, and it has certainly come about not without a particular design of divine Providence that the first conciliar document which together with the venerable Fathers we approved and signed in Spiritu Sancto was the Constitution Sacrosanctum concilium. The purpose of this document was precisely to restore and enhance the liturgy and to make more fruitful the participation of the faithful in the sacred mysteries.

n. 16: the mariological program of marialis cultus

Latin: Itaque in nonnullis quaestionibus libet immorari, quae ad necessitudinem inter sacram Liturgiam et cultum Dei Genetricis spectant (I); considerationes et normas directorias proponere aptas ad legitimum eiusdem cultus progressum fovendum (II); quaedam denique cogitata subicere pertinentia ad recitationem Sacratissimi Rosarii alacriter et magis conscie instaurandam, de cuius usu Decessores Nostri instanter monuerunt, quodque apud populum christianum magnopere invaluit.

English: We therefore wish to dwell upon a number of questions concerning the relationship between the sacred liturgy and devotion to the Blessed Virgin (I), to offer considerations and directives suitable for favoring the development of that devotion (II) and finally to put forward a number of reflections intended to encourage the restoration, in a dynamic and more informed manner, of the recitation of the Rosary, the practice of which was so strongly recommended by our predecessors and is so widely diffused among the Christian people (III).

Structure of marialis cultus

The apostolic exhortation is organized into three great parts:

1. Part I (nn. 1-23): Devotion to the Virgin Mary in the renewed liturgy, Mary in the liturgical calendar, in the lectionary, in the liturgical year
2. Part II (nn. 24-39): Renewal of Marian devotion, four orientations: Trinitarian, Christological, pneumatological, ecclesiological; four characteristics: biblical, liturgical, ecumenical, anthropological
3. Part III (nn. 40-55): The exercises of Marian piety, theological analysis of the Angelus Domini and of the Rosary

Mary as Mater ecclesiae – n. 17

Etenim Ecclesia horum temporum, de mysterio Christi atque de sua ipsius natura recogitans, eandem Mulierem invenit, et in prioris veluti fonte et in alterius consummatione, Virginem scilicet Mariam, quippe quae esset Mater Christi et Mater Ecclesiae.

English: The Church’s reflection today on the mystery of Christ and on her own nature has led her to find at the root of the former and is a culmination of the latter the same figure of a woman: the Virgin Mary, the Mother of Christ and the Mother of the Church.

This passage takes up directly the proclamation of Mater Ecclesiae by Paul VI on November 21, 1964, a direct link between the two great Marian moments of the pontificate.

Significance for contemporary Marian liturgy

Marialis Cultus is the theological basis of:

• The renewed post-Vatican II Marian liturgical calendar
• The feast of “Mary Mother of the Church” (Monday after Pentecost, instituted by Francis in 2018)
• The revision of the Marian votive Masses
• The Collectio Missarum de Beata Maria Virgine (1986), 46 votive Masses
• The Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy (2002)
• The Rosarium Virginis Mariae (John Paul II, 2002)

Further reading

Marialis Cultus (original post) | Mater Ecclesiae Proclamation 1964 | Sacrosanctum Concilium | Lumen Gentium ch. VIII | Rosarium Virginis Mariae