thumb|The Blessed Virgin Mary is depicted in a [[rose garden with angels playing music. Roses are a symbol of Mary.]]
Catholic Mariology is the systematic study of the person of Mary, the mother of Jesus, and of her place in the economy of salvation in Catholic theology. According to the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception taught by the Catholic Church, Mary was conceived and born without original sin, hence she is seen as having a singular dignity above the saints, receiving a higher level of veneration than all angelic spirits and blessed souls in heaven. Catholic Mariology thus studies not only her life but also the veneration of her in daily life, prayer, hymns, art, music, and architecture in modern and ancient Christianity throughout the ages.
In parallel to the traditional views, since the late 19th century, as Marian devotion became more pronounced in the Catholic Church, a number of other perspectives have been presented as a challenge to Catholic Mariology. Some other Christian views see Catholic Mariology as unbiblical and a denial of the uniqueness of Christ as redeemer and mediator, Nonetheless, Christians in the Catholic Church, the Old Catholic Churches, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Oriental Orthodox Church, the Assyrian Church of the East, the Ancient Church of the East, the Independent Sacramental Movement, Anglo-Catholicism, and other High church Protestants continue to revere Mary as the greatest saint.
Study of Mary and her place in the Catholic Church
Context and components
The study of Mary and her place in the Catholic Church has been undertaken from a number of perspectives and within a number of contexts, and in his address to the 2012 Mariological congress, Pope Benedict XVI stated that this study must be "understood and deeply examined from different and complementary viewpoints". Benedict also emphasized that the study of Mary cannot be performed in isolation from other disciplines and that Mariology is inherently related to the study of Christ and of the church, and expresses the inner coherence of these disciplines.
Pope Benedict XVI has stated that Marian studies have three separate characteristics: first personalizing the church so it is not seen just as a structure but as a person, secondly the incarnational aspect and the relation to God, and third Marian piety which involves the heart and the emotional component.
Mary's position in the church can be compared to the aspect of the Petrine office in a dual sense. This perspective on the duality of the roles of Mary and Peter highlights the subjective holiness of the heart and the holiness of the structure of the church. In this duality, the Petrine office logically examines the charisms for their theological soundness, while the Marian dual provides a balance in the spiritual and emotional sense via the service of love that the office can never encompass. Mariology and the doctrine of office are thus not "side chapels" in Catholic teachings, but are central and integrating elements of it. As referenced in Pope Pius XII's 1943 the encyclical Mystici Corporis Christi, her fiat gave consent for a spiritual marriage between the Son of God and human nature, thus giving humanity the means to salvation. Mary's rights (wedding feast at Cana), and Mary's love (fiat) are essential to salvation.
Maximalism and minimalism
Mariology is a field in which deeply felt pious beliefs of the faithful and hagiography may conflict with theological and critical historical reviews of beliefs and practices. This conflict was recognized as early as the year 1300 by William of Ware who described the tendency of some believers to attribute almost everything to Mary. Bonaventura warned against Marian maximalism: "One has to be careful as to not to minimize the honour of our Lord, Jesus Christ." Both minimalist and maximalist have always seen in Mary a sign of the Catholic Church and viewed her as a model for all Catholics.
In the 20th century, Pope Pius XII, "the most Marian pope in Church history", warned against both exuberant exaggerations and timid minimalism in the presentation of Mary. The Vatican II dogmatic constitution Lumen gentium was specifically written in 1964 to avoid both Marian maximalism and minimalism. Pope John Paul II was also careful to avoid both maximalism and minimalism in his Mariology and avoided taking personal positions on issues which were subject to theological debate.
Mariology and Christology
thumb|300px|Christ and Mary, mosaic, [[Chora Church, 12–14th century]]
Mariology is related to Christology (the study of Christ) and in the Catholic theological and papal writings has been viewed as interwoven with the mystery of Christ. Pope John Paul II discussed the "precise place of Mary" in the plan of salvation in the encyclical Redemptoris Mater and stated: "Following the line of the Second Vatican Council, I wish to emphasize the special presence of the Mother of God in the mystery of Christ and his Church. For this is a fundamental dimension emerging from the Mariology of the Council".
Catholic theologians have also explored the necessary connection of Mariology with Christology. Pope Benedict XVI characterized the relationship by stating that "Christology and Mariology are inseparably interwoven" from their very beginnings. In his view, Mariology underscores the nexus of the mysteries of Christology and ecclesiology, and reflects they are intrinsically interwoven.
Early Christians and numerous saints focused on this connection and popes highlighted the inner link between Marian doctrines and a fuller understanding of Christological themes. Given the Catholic perspective that the Church lives in its relation to Christ, being the Body of Christ, it also has a relation to his mother, whose study is the subject of Catholic Mariology. Pope Pius X in Ad diem illum stated: "there is no more direct road than by Mary for uniting all mankind in Christ."
In Catholic theology the study of Mary, while contributing to the study of Christ, is also a separate discipline in its own right, with an understanding of the figure of Mary contributing to a fuller understanding of who Christ is and what he did. The Congregation for Catholic Education has characterized the situation as follows: "The history of theology shows that an understanding of the mystery of the Virgin contributes to a more profound understanding of the mystery of Christ, of the Church and of the vocation of man." Referring to this, Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke stated that the promotion of a fuller knowledge of the Virgin Mary is the "constant work of the Church".
History and development
thumb|150px|[[Santa Maria Antiqua, in the Forum Romanum, 5th century, seat of Pope John VII]]
thumb|Mary as the [[Queen of Heaven in Dante's Divine Comedy. Illustration by Gustave Doré. ]]
Early Christians focused their piety at first more upon the martyrs; but following that, they saw in Mary a bridge between the old and the new. The earliest recorded prayer to Mary, the Sub tuum praesidium, is dated to around the year 250.
In Egypt the veneration of Mary had started in the 3rd century and the term Theotokos was used by Church Father Origen.
The Renaissance period witnessed a dramatic growth in Marian art. Masterpieces by Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael were produced in this period. In the 16th century, the Council of Trent confirmed the Catholic tradition of paintings and artworks in churches, resulting in a great development of Marian art and Mariology during the Baroque Period. During the Reformation, the Catholic Church defended its Mariology against Protestant views. With the victory at Battle of Lepanto (1571) accredited to her, it "signified the beginning of a strong resurgence of Marian devotions." The baroque literature on Mary experienced unforeseen growth. More than 500 pages of Mariological writings were published during the 17th century alone.
Popes have fostered the veneration of the Blessed Virgin through the promotion of Marian devotions, feast days, prayers, initiatives, the acceptance and support of Marian congregations, and, the formal recognition of Marian apparitions such as in Lourdes and Fátima. Popes Alexander VII and Clement X both promulgated the veneration of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, a concept which was embraced by Pope John Paul II in the 20th century as the Alliance of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary.
The two Marian dogmas of Immaculate Conception and Assumption were established by popes in the 19th and 20th century. Pope Pius XII issued the Dogma of the Assumption and the Second Vatican Council declared Mary to be the Mother of the Church. In his 2002 Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariæ, Pope John Paul II emphasized Louis de Montfort's approach of viewing the study of Mary as a path to gaining a better understanding of the mystery of Christ. This is consistent with the emphasis of the bishops at the Second Vatican Council in not having a separate decree on Mary but rather describing her place in salvation history in Lumen gentium, the Constitution on the Church.
Dogmatic teachings
Marian Catholic dogmas present Catholic teachings about Mary and her relation to Jesus Christ, held by the church to be infallible, and reflect the role of Mary in the economy of salvation.
De Fide Definita or De Fide Credenda doctrines have the highest degree of dogmatic certainty. These doctrines come in several forms, namely the sacred scriptures and apostolic tradition and teachings which have been specifically defined as revealed by an extraordinary definition by a pope or ecumenical council (extraordinary universal Magisterium), or those teachings infallibly taught to be revealed by the ordinary universal Magisterium. As in the case of the Immaculate Conception or the Assumption, these doctrines were held by the church prior to the date of official definition, but open for discussion. From the date of definition, they must be accepted by all members of the Catholic Church as contained specifically in the Deposit of Faith and owed supernatural faith in itself (de fide credenda).
Scriptural basis for the dogma is found in John 1:14 which states "And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us" and in Galatians 4:4 which states "God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law". Luke 1:35 further affirms divine maternity by stating: "The holy Spirit will come upon you. ... Therefore, the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God."
The dogmatic constitution Lumen gentium at the Second Vatican Council affirmed Mary as the Mother of God. "The Virgin Mary, who at the message of the angel received the Word of God in her heart and in her body and gave Life to the world, is acknowledged and honored as being truly the Mother of God and Mother of the Redeemer."
This dogma is inherently related to the Christological dogma of the hypostatic union which relates the divine and human natures of Jesus Christ. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that "Mary is truly 'Mother of God' since she is the mother of the eternal Son of God made man, who is God himself." According to Catholic teaching, sourced in the John 1:1–14, Mary did not create the divine person of Jesus, who existed with the Father from all eternity.
Pope Pius XII discussed the Assumption in Deiparae Virginis Mariae (1946) and declared it a dogma in Munificentissimus Deus (1950).
Although the Assumption was only recently defined as dogma, accounts of the bodily assumption of Mary into heaven have circulated since at least the 5th century, and by the 8th century Andrew of Crete and John of Damascus had declared belief in it. The Book of Revelation (12:1) has been interpreted as referring to it; with her coronation implying her previous bodily assumption to heaven. The consensus of Magisterial teaching and liturgy affirms that Mary suffered death before her assumption, but this is not always accepted as settled doctrine. What is most clear is that her body was not left on earth to corrupt.
When responding to Pope Pius XII following the circulation of Deiparae Virginis Mariae, a large number of Catholic bishops pointed to the Book of Genesis (3:15) as a scriptural basis.
Immaculate Conception of Mary
thumb|200px|Altar of the Immaculata by [[Josef Moroder-Lusenberg|Joseph Lusenberg, 1876. Saint Antony's Church, Urtijëi, Italy.]]
This dogma states that Mary was conceived without original sin. This means that from the first moment of her existence she was preserved by God from the lack of sanctifying grace, and that she was instead filled with divine grace.
The dogma of the Immaculate Conception is distinct from and should not be confused with the perpetual virginity of Mary or the virgin birth of Jesus; for this dogma refers to the conception of Mary by her mother, Saint Anne, and not the conception of Jesus.
The feast of the Immaculate Conception, celebrated on December 8, was established in 1476 by Pope Sixtus IV, but the dogmatic definition came from Pope Pius IX in his constitution Ineffabilis Deus, on December 8, 1854.
The dogma states that Mary possessed sanctifying grace from the first instant of her existence and by a special and unique gift of God was free from the lack of grace caused by the original sin from the beginning of human history.
In Fulgens corona (item 10) Pope Pius XII reaffirmed the concept by stating:
"Who will dare to doubt that she, who was purer than the angels and at all times pure, was at any moment, even for the briefest instant, not free from every stain of sin?"
Ineffabilis Deus (as well as Pope Pius XII's Munificentissimus Deus on the Assumption) also teaches the predestination of Mary, in that she was preserved from sin due to the role reserved for her in the economy of salvation. Thus, by the teaching of this dogma, the faithful believe that Mary was ever-Virgin (Greek ') for the whole of her life, making Jesus her only biological son, whose conception and birth are held to be miraculous.
The doctrine of perpetual virginity is distinct from the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, which relates to the conception of the Virgin Mary herself without any stain (macula in Latin) of original sin.
Virginity before birth
This means that Mary conceived by the Holy Spirit without participation of any man (de fide). The Greek term Aeiparthenos (i.e. "Ever Virgin") is attested to from the early 4th century. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (item 499) includes the term Aeiparthenos and referring to the dogmatic constitution Lumen gentium (item 57) states: "Christ's birth did not diminish his mother's virginal integrity but sanctified it."
Virginity during birth
This means that Mary gave birth without losing her corporal virginity (de fide) and her corporal integrity was not affected by giving birth. The scriptures say little about this, mentioning the brothers of Jesus, but never "sons of Mary", suggesting to the patristic writers a broader family relationship.
Other Marian doctrines
Apart from the four Marian dogmas listed above, the Catholic Church holds a number of other doctrines about the Virgin Mary which have been developed by references to Sacred Scripture, theological reasoning and church tradition.
Queen of Heaven
thumb|300px|Statue (detail) of the Assumption of Mary in [[Attard, Malta]]
The doctrine that the Virgin Mary has been crowned Queen of Heaven goes back to certain early patristic writers of the church such as Gregory Nazianzen's "the Mother of the King of the universe", and the "Virgin Mother who brought forth the King of the whole world", Prudentius's the Mother marvels "that she has brought forth God as man, and even as Supreme King." and, Ephrem's, "Let Heaven sustain me in its embrace, because I am honored above it. For heaven was not Thy mother, but Thou hast made it Thy throne. How much more honorable and venerable than the throne of a king is her mother." The Catholic Church often sees Mary as queen in heaven, bearing a crown of twelve stars in Revelation.
Many popes have given tribute to Mary in this regard, for example: Mary is the Queen of Heaven and Earth, (Pius IX), Queen and Ruler of the Universe (Leo XIII) and Queen of the World (Pius XII) The theological and logical foundation of these titles rests in the dogma of Mary as the Mother of God. As mother of God, she participates in his salvation plan. The Catholic faith teaches that Mary, the Virgin Mother of God, reigns with a mother's solicitude over the entire world, just as she is crowned in heavenly blessedness with the glory of a Queen, as Pius XII wrote: