Mother of the Church

A series of articles on Roman Catholic Mariology
General articles Mariology • Veneration of the Blessed Virgin • History of Mariology • Mariology of the saints • Mariology of the popes • Marian Societies
Devotions Rosary • Scapular • Immaculate Heart • Seven Joys • Seven Sorrows • First Saturdays • Acts of Reparation • Hearts of Jesus & Mary • Consecration to Mary
Dogmas and Doctrines Mother of God • Perpetual virginity • Immaculate Conception • Assumption • Mother of the Church • Mediatrix • Co-Redemptrix
Expressions of devotion Art • Hymns • Music • Architecture
Key Marian apparitions (approved or worthy of belief) Guadalupe • Miraculous Medal • La Salette • Lourdes • Pontmain • Laus • Banneux • Beauraing • Fátima • Akita
Papal Bulls Ineffabilis Deus • Munificentissimus Deus • Bis Saeculari
Papal encyclicals Redemptoris Mater • Ad Caeli Reginam • Fulgens Corona • Deiparae Virginis Mariae • Ingruentium Malorum • Ad Diem Illum
Papal Apostolic Letters and other teachings Rosarium Virginis Mariae • Marialis Cultus
Key Marian Feast Days Dec 8 Immaculate Conception • Jan 1 Mother of God • Mar 25 Annunciation • Aug 15 Assumption

Mother of the Church is a title, officially given to Mary during the Second Vatican Council by Pope Paul VI. The title was first used by Saint Ambrose of Milan and rediscovered by Hugo Rahner, the brother of Karl Rahner.

Ambrose and Hugo Rahner

• Pope Benedict XVI: Hugo Rahner's great achievement was his rediscovery within the Fathers the indivisibility of Mary and the Church.

Rahner's mariology following Ambrose of Milan , sees Mary in her role within the Church. His interpretation, based solely on Ambrose, whose view he rediscovered, and the early writers,^[1] greatly influenced Vatican II ^[2] and ^[3], who, quoting Ambrose, declared Mary the "mother of the Church", a view continued by Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI, who specifically gives credit to Rahner on this point.

Pope Paul VI

Pope Paul VI pronounced the title at the closing of the third phase of the council completely on his own.^[4] As former archbishop of Milan, he knew, that his famous predecessor, Saint Ambrose of Milan (338 – 397) had used identical language, calling Mary Model of the Church in light of her faith, love and complete unity with Christ and Mother of the Church because she gave birth to Christ.^[5]

Pope John Paul II

This ancient title was again proclaimed then by Pope Paul VI at the Second Vatican Council. In 1987, Pope John Paul II repeated this title Mother of the Church in his encyclical Redemptoris Mater and at a general audience on September 17, 1997.^[6] The encyclical is a long and eloquent summary of modern Mariology, making some novel points: According to John Paul, the Mother of the Redeemer has a precise place in the plan of salvation. The Church teaches that Mary appeared on the horizon of salvation history before Christ.^[7]

It is precisely in this ecclesial journey or pilgrimage through space and time, and even more through the history of souls, that Mary is present, as the one who is "blessed because she believed," as the one who advanced on the pilgrimage of faith, sharing unlike any other creature in the mystery of Christ.^[8]

Pope Benedict XVI

Pope Benedict XVI addresses the issue, why Roman Catholic Mariology is related to ecclesiology, the teaching about the Church. On first sight, he argues, it may seem accidental, that the Council moved Mariology into ecclesiology. This relation helps to understand what "Church" really is. The theologian Hugo Rahner showed that Mariology was originally ecclesiology. The Church is like Mary.^[9]

The Church is virgin and mother, she is immaculate and carries the burdens of history. She suffers and she is assumed into heaven. Slowly she learns, that Mary is her mirror, that she is a person in Mary. Mary on the other hand is not an isolated individual, who rests in herself. She is carrying the mystery of the Church.^[9]

Notes

1. ^ Mater Ecclesia - Lobpreis der Kirche aus dem ersten Jahrtausend, Einsiedeln/Köln 1944;
2. ^ Lumen Gentium Chapter eight,
3. ^ Pope Paul VI
4. ^ Leo Cardinal Scheffczyk, Vaticanum II, in Marienlexikon 568
5. ^ Ambrose of Milan, De inst. Virg 98, PL 16, 328 and IV, 3,4,PL17,876
6. ^ Blessed Virgin Is Mother Of The Church
7. ^ Redemptoris Mater 3
8. ^ Redemptoris Mater 25
9. ^ ^{a b} Joseph Kardinal Ratzinger: Weggemeinschaft des Glaubens. Kirche als Communio. Festgabe zum 75. Geburtstag, hg. vom Schülerkreis, Augsburg 2002)