Mediatrix is a

title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify their generation, official position, military rank, professional or academic qualification, or nobility. In some languages, titles may be ins ...

given to

Mary, mother of Jesus Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. It refers to the role of the

Blessed Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

as a mediator by intercession in the salvific redemption by her son

Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

, the one proper Mediator by action. Mediatrix is an ancient title that has been used by many saints since at least the 5th century. Its use grew during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

and reached its height in the writings of Louis de Montfort and Alphonsus Liguori in the 18th century. A general role of intercession is attributed to Mary in

Eastern Orthodoxy Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

, and Oriental Orthodoxy, and the term "Mediatrix" was applied to her in the dogmatic constitution ''

Lumen gentium , the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, is one of the principal documents of the Second Vatican Council. This dogmatic constitution was promulgated by Pope Paul VI on 21 November 1964, following approval by the assembled bishops by a vote of 2 ...

'' of the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...

. "This, however, is to be so understood that it neither takes away from nor adds anything to the dignity and efficaciousness of Christ the one Mediator." The use of the title Mediatrix and the doctrine of Mary having a highest level of saintly intercession (called '' hyperdulia''; owing to her special relationship with her son Jesus) is distinct from the theological issues involved in the establishment of Mediatrix of all graces as a dogma. Further to the intercessory mediation is the claim that God bestows graces through her as the mechanism of the

incarnation Incarnation literally means ''embodied in flesh'' or ''taking on flesh''. It is the Conception (biology), conception and the embodiment of a deity or spirit in some earthly form or an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic form of a god. It is used t ...

. A stronger version of this, which has not been officially defined by the church, is that all graces (ultimately or actually) flow through Mary's intercession.

History

Early history

Mediatrix is an ancient title. A prayer attributed to

Ephrem the Syrian Ephrem the Syrian (; ), also known as Ephraem the Deacon, Ephrem of Edessa or Aprem of Nisibis, (Syriac: ܡܪܝ ܐܦܪܝܡ ܣܘܪܝܝܐ — ''Mâr Aphrêm Sûryâyâ)'' was a prominent Christian theology, Christian theologian and Christian literat ...

in the 4th century calls her "after the mediator, you (Mary) are the mediatrix of the whole world." Mark Miravalle, 1993, ''Introduction to Mary'', Queenship Publishing , p. 104 The title was also used in the 5th century by Basil of Seleucia. By the 8th century, the title Mediatrix found common use and Andrew of Crete and John of Damascus used it.Antoine Nachef (Sep 1, 2000) ''Mary's Pope: John Paul II, Mary, and the Church'' pp. 179–80 These early notions place Mary's mediation on a higher level than that of other forms of the

intercession of saints The intercession of saints is a Catholic doctrine that maintains that saints can intercession, intercede for others. To intercede is to go or come between two parties, to plead before one of them on behalf of the other. In ecclesiastical usage bo ...

. Her position as the mother of Jesus Christ the redeemer and source of grace makes her preeminent among others who might be called mediators.

Later Middle Ages

The use of the Mediatrix title continued to grow in the Middle Ages, and

Bernard of Clairvaux Bernard of Clairvaux, Cistercians, O.Cist. (; 109020 August 1153), venerated as Saint Bernard, was an abbot, Mysticism, mystic, co-founder of the Knights Templar, and a major leader in the reform of the Benedictines through the nascent Cistercia ...

(12th century), Bonaventure, and Bernardino of Siena (15th century) frequently used it. In the 13th century,

Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas ( ; ; – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican Order, Dominican friar and Catholic priest, priest, the foremost Scholasticism, Scholastic thinker, as well as one of the most influential philosophers and theologians in the W ...

noted that only

can be the ''perfect mediator'' between God and humankind. However, this does not hinder that others may be called mediators, in some respect, between God and man, because they assist and prepare union between God and man. The same notion was stated in the 16th century by the

Council of Trent The Council of Trent (), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation at the time, it has been described as the "most ...

, which declared "that the saints, who reign together with Christ, offer up their own prayers to God for men; that it is good and useful suppliantly to invoke them, and to have recourse to their prayers, aid, (and) help for obtaining benefits from God, through His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who is our alone Redeemer and Saviour; but that they think impiously, who deny that the saints, who enjoy eternal happiness in heaven, are to be invocated; or who assert either that they do not pray for men; or, that the invocation of them to pray for each of us even in particular, is idolatry; or, that it is repugnant to the word of God; and is opposed to the honour of the one mediator of God and men, Christ Jesus; or, that it is foolish to supplicate, vocally, or mentally, those who reign in heaven".

17th–18th centuries

Reliance on the intercession of Mary grew and reached its height in the writings of Louis de Montfort and Alphonsus Liguori in the 18th century. Louis de Montfort's approach (which later influenced Pope

John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

) emphasized that Mary is the natural path to approaching Jesus because of her special relationship with him. This reliance on the intercession of Mary is based on the general Montfortean formula: "…to do all our actions by Mary, with Mary, in Mary and for Mary so that we may do them all the more perfectly by Jesus, with Jesus, in Jesus and for Jesus…" In his book ''Treatise on Prayer,'' Alphonsus Liguori reviewed the writings of

and

on the intercession of saints and Mary's role as Mediatrix and strongly supported the title.

19th–21st centuries

Several popes have used the title Mediatrix. Leo XIII used it in 1896 and Pius X in 1904. This continued in the 20th century with Benedict XV and

Pius XI Pope Pius XI (; born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, ; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939) was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 until his death in February 1939. He was also the first sovereign of the Vatican City State u ...

. However, Pius XII avoided the use of the title in official documents, although he urged reliance on the intercession of Mary.

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

used the title Mediatrix a number of times and in his encyclical '' Redemptoris Mater'' quoted a prayer in the ''Collectio Missarum de Beata Maria Virgine'' and noted that Mary's mediation is by intercession with the Son: In September 2012, during the Feast of the Nativity of Mary, claimant visionnaire Emma de Guzman stated that the Virgin Mary revealed her maternal role as ''"Mediatrix before the Mediator,"'' a special Marian title associated by many Filipino Catholics in reference to Our Lady Mediatrix of All Graces.

Theological issues

Among Catholic theologians, it is undisputed that Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God and the human race, especially in the salvific role of redemption as exhibited by the crucifixion on Mount Calvary. Accordingly, the word "mediator" in the strict sense fits Jesus alone in relation to God, but in a subordinate sense, Christians exercise a mediation "that is effective through, with, and in Christ. The subordinate mediator never stands alone, but is always dependent on Jesus." With special reference to Mary, the

Catechism of the Catholic Church The ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' (; commonly called the ''Catechism'' or the ''CCC'') is a reference work that summarizes the Catholic Church's doctrine. It was Promulgation (Catholic canon law), promulgated by Pope John Paul II in 1992 ...

, quoting the

, which in its document ''

'' referred to Mary as "'Advocate, Auxiliatrix, Adjutrix and Mediatrix," says: Similarly, the Catechism of Saint Pius X affirms: At a Mariological Congress held at Czestochowa in August 1996, a commission was established in response to a request, by the Holy See, which had asked to know the opinion of the scholars present at the Congress on the possibility of defining a new dogma of faith regarding Mary as Coredemptrix, Mediatrix and Advocate. (In recent years, the Pope and various dicasteries of the Holy See had received petitions requesting such a definition.) The response of the commission, deliberately brief, was unanimous and precise: It found that the titles, as proposed, were ambiguous, as they can be understood in very different ways. It also held that it was not opportune to abandon the path marked out by the Second Vatican Council and proceed to the definition of a new dogma.''

L'Osservatore Romano ''L'Osservatore Romano'' is the daily newspaper of Vatican City which reports on the activities of the Holy See and events taking place in the Catholic Church and the world. It is owned by the Holy See but is not an official publication, a role ...

''
Weekly ed in English
25 June 1997, p.10

Mediatrix of all graces

Going further than expressing belief in Mary as Mediatrix, proposals have been made to declare that Mary is the Mediatrix of ''all'' graces. Pope Benedict XV allowed the dioceses of Belgium to celebrate the feast of ''Mary Mediatrix of all graces'' on May 31 each year. In printings of the Roman Missal from that date until 1961, the

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

of Mary Mediatrix of All Graces was found in the appendix ''Missae pro aliquibus locis'' (Masses for Some Places), but not in the general calendar for use wherever the

Roman Rite The Roman Rite () is the most common ritual family for performing the ecclesiastical services of the Latin Church, the largest of the ''sui iuris'' particular churches that comprise the Catholic Church. The Roman Rite governs Rite (Christianity) ...

is celebrated. Other Masses authorized for celebration in different places on the same day were those o
the Blessed Virgin Mary Queen of All Saints and Mother of Fair Love
an

The Belgian celebration has now been replaced by an optional memorial on 31 August of the Virgin Mary Mediatrix.
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References

{{Authority control Pope Pius IX Mariology Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XII Mariology Catholic theology and doctrine Catholic Mariology Pope Leo XIII Titles of Mary, mother of Jesus Christian terminology