Marian Shrines and Scholars of Mariology

The shrine, whether dedicated to the Most Holy Trinity, to Christ the Lord, to the Most Holy Virgin, to the Angels or to the Saints, is perhaps the place where the relations between the liturgy and popular piety are most frequent and most evident.

In shrines, the means of salvation are to be offered more abundantly to the faithful, by zealously proclaiming the Word of God, by suitably fostering liturgical life, especially with the Eucharist and the celebration of Penance, as well as by cultivating approved forms of popular piety.

Closely linked to the shrine is the pilgrimage, which is likewise a widespread and characteristic expression of popular piety. In our time, interest in shrines and participation in pilgrimages, far from having faded away through the phenomenon of secularity, meet with great acceptance among the faithful.

It therefore seems fitting to us, in keeping with the aims of the formation of the Scholars of Mariology, to offer some guidelines so that in the mariological pastoral activity of shrines and in the carrying out of pilgrimages a correct relationship between liturgical actions and exercises of piety may be established and promoted.

The shrine

Some principles

What is a shrine?

According to Christian revelation, the supreme and definitive shrine is the risen Christ (cf. Jn 2:18-21. Rev 21:22), around whom the community of the disciples gathers and is organized, which in turn is the new house of the Lord (cf. 1 Pet 2:5. Eph 2:19-22).

From the theological point of view, the shrine, which has often been born of a movement of popular piety, is a sign of the active and saving presence of the Lord in history and a place of rest where the people of God, journeying along the roads of the world toward the city that is to come (cf. Heb 13:14), regain strength to continue the way.

The shrine, like churches, has great symbolic value: it is the image of the dwelling of God with men (Rev 21:3) and points back to the mystery of the Temple that was fulfilled in the body of Christ (cf. Jn 1:14; 2:21), in the ecclesial community (cf. 1 Pet 2:5) and in the faithful individually (cf. 1 Cor 3:16-17; 6:19; 2 Cor 6:16).

In the eyes of faith, shrines are:

, by their origin, at times, the memory of an event considered extraordinary that gave rise to manifestations of lasting devotion, or the testimony of the piety and gratitude of a people for the benefits received.

, by the frequent signs of mercy that are manifested there, privileged places of divine assistance and of the intercession of the Most Holy Virgin, of the Saints or of the Blessed.

, by their position, often elevated and solitary, by the beauty, now austere, now pleasing, of the places where they arise, a sign of the harmony of the cosmos and a reflection of divine beauty.

, by the preaching that resounds there, an effective call to conversion, an invitation to live in charity and to increase works of mercy, an exhortation to lead a life marked by the following of Christ.

, for the sacramental life that takes place there, places of consolidation in the faith and of growth in grace, of refuge and hope in affliction.

, by the aspect of the Gospel message that they express, a particular interpretation and almost an extension of the Word.

, by their eschatological orientation, a reminder to cultivate the sense of transcendence and to direct one’s steps, along the paths of temporal life, toward the shrine of heaven (cf. Heb 9:11; Rev 21:3).

Always and everywhere, Christian shrines have been or have sought to be signs of God, of His irruption into history. Each of them is a memorial of the mystery of the Incarnation and of the Redemption.

Canonical definition of a shrine

By shrine is understood a church or other sacred place to which, for special reasons of piety, with the approval of the local Ordinary, the faithful make pilgrimage in great numbers.

A prior condition for a sacred place to be canonically considered a diocesan, national or international shrine is the approval of the diocesan Bishop, of the Episcopal Conference and of the Holy See, respectively.

Canonical approval constitutes an official recognition of the sacred place and of its specific purpose, which is to welcome the pilgrimages of the people of God who go there to adore the Father, to profess the faith, to be reconciled with God, with the Church and with their brethren, and to implore the intercession of the Mother of the Lord or of a Saint.

It should not be forgotten, however, that many other places of worship, often humble, small churches in the cities or in the countryside, fulfill locally, even without canonical recognition, a function similar to that of shrines. 

They too are part of the geography of faith and of the piety of the people of God, of a community that lives in a given territory and that, in faith, is on its way to the heavenly Jerusalem (cf. Rev 21).

The relationship between shrines and Mariology

In the Code of Canon Law, shrines have received a particular juridical recognition, which attests to their importance in the pastoral life of a territory. 

In his teachings, Saint John Paul II often spoke of the shrines dedicated to the Most Holy Virgin. He described them as places that bear witness to the particular presence of the Virgin in the life of the Church, at times forming part of the spiritual and cultural heritage of a people. Privileged places, where the faithful, desiring to consolidate their faith, seek a renewed encounter with God and with the Mother of the Lord.

In the encyclical Redemptoris Mater, the Holy Father noted the existence of a specific geography of Marian faith and piety, which includes all the places of particular pilgrimage of the people of God and they are destined to play a prominent role in mariological pastoral ministry.

Certainly the various Marian shrines, diocesan, regional, national, international, for historical and pastoral reasons know their mission as primary centers of apostolic animation, catechesis and Mariology, joining formation to the liturgical life of the Mother of the Lord. However, without the cultivation of Mariology in the shrines that vitality, opportunity and requirement have waned.

So that the Shrine may be a center and may spread the whole spiritual life among its pilgrims, there must be permanent education in the mariological relationship between the Church and Mary, which takes nothing away from the relationship between pilgrims and Pastors, but clarifies the direction of the pilgrimage of faith toward the heavenly Jerusalem.

Let us consider for a moment that most of the shrines of the world are Marian, that the churches are dedicated to the Virgin, which is a centuries-old proclamation of a movement of piety toward the glorious Mother of Christ. This experience also reflects a theological idea: the Church recognizes in Mary, virgin spouse-mother, the image of her own maternal-virginal nuptial condition. She sees in her the model of her love and of her fidelity to the Lord. The Ecclesial Community finds in Mary a sure refuge in danger and in the hour of judgment.

Exemplary function of shrines

Increase of the liturgy

Among the functions recognized to shrines, also by the Code of Canon Law, is the increase of the liturgy. However, this is not to be understood as a numerical increase of the celebrations, but rather as an improvement in their preparation and performance. The rectors of shrines must be well aware of their responsibility for reaching this goal.

We understand that the faithful, who arrive at the shrine from the most varied places, must leave comforted in spirit and edified by the liturgical celebrations that take place there.

When a shrine is able, in its mariological celebrations, to communicate the saving message through the noble simplicity of its ritual expressions and through faithful observance of the liturgical norms, then it begins to be a place where more and more pilgrims want to be.

The effects of an exemplary liturgical action are not limited to the celebration carried out in the shrine, as a place of Mariological culture; priests and pilgrim faithful tend to transfer the mariological and liturgical cultural experiences lived in the shrine to their places of origin.

The celebration of the mariological liturgical year, with the consequent greater influx of the faithful to the shrines dedicated to the Most Holy Virgin, will therefore see the rectors particularly committed to this line of exemplarity in mariological liturgical-pastoral action.

Exercise of charity

The exemplary function of the shrine is also expressed in the exercise of charity. Truly numerous are the shrines in which, thanks to the zeal of those in charge and of their collaborators, the charity of Christ flourishes and the maternal solicitude of the Virgin seems to be prolonged:

• in the welcome and the hospitality given to pilgrims, above all to the poorest, to whom, as far as possible, spaces and facilities are offered for a moment of refreshment.
• in solicitude for elderly, sick and disabled pilgrims, for whom the most delicate attentions and the best places in the shrine are reserved. For them, at the most opportune moments, celebrations are organized which, without isolating them from the other faithful, take their particular condition into account. For them an effective collaboration is established with the associations that generously see to their transportation.
• in the availability and the service offered to all who enter the shrine: educated and unlettered faithful, poor and rich, compatriots and foreigners.
• In the mariological formation offered at every moment by the Scholars of Mariology prepared in the Shrines so that they may form, educate and propose an experience of faith in the house of the Mother, more complete and often the first proclamation of salvation. In mariological formation we find the possibility of proclaiming the kerygma, for the indissolubility of Christ and Mary in the revealed mystery leads the Scholar of Mariology to proclaim the Gospel in a complete, attractive and effective way.

To deepen your reflection on Marian shrines and devotion to Mary, consult the apostolic exhortation Marialis Cultus by Paul VI, which guides authentic Marian devotion in the life of the Church.

Deepen your studies: explore Mariology, Marian Theology, Marian apparitions and the Postgraduate Program in Mariology.