The most glorious Mother of God largely lived a quiet and hidden life, and there are but a few stories about her in the Scriptures. Since her Assumption into Heaven, the Church has prayerfully pondered her life and role in the mystery of salvation. Little by little, saint after saint and pope after pope have shed greater light upon her unique and glorious role in the Father’s eternal plan. As our understanding of the Blessed Mother has deepened, the Church has proclaimed new titles and new dogmas about Mary. In 2018, a new liturgical memorial honored her with the title “Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church.”

To understand the Blessed Virgin Mary’s role as Mother of the Church, we begin with Scripture. As Jesus hung on the Cross, His mother and two other women stood before Him, alongside John, the disciple whom Jesus loved. From the Cross, Jesus entrusted His mother to John’s care. “When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, behold, your son.’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Behold, your mother.’ And from that hour the disciple took her into his home” (John 19:26–27).

Beginning with Pope Leo XIII in 1895, many of our popes have referred to Mary as the “Mother of the Church,” with each one adding to our understanding of Mary in that role. On September 17, 1997, Pope John Paul II defined “Mother of the Church” in this way in a Wednesday catechesis:

The title “Mother of the Church” thus reflects the deep conviction of the Christian faithful, who see in Mary not only the mother of the person of Christ, but also of the faithful. She who is recognized as mother of salvation, life and grace, mother of the saved and mother of the living, is rightly proclaimed Mother of the Church. (#5).

On March 3, 2018, Pope Francis announced a new memorial on the General Roman Calendar, celebrated on the Monday after Pentecost: “The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church.”

In the decree instituting this memorial, Cardinal Robert Sarah, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship, said:

This celebration will help us to remember that growth in the Christian life must be anchored to the Mystery of the Cross, to the oblation of Christ in the Eucharistic Banquet and to the Mother of the Redeemer and Mother of the Redeemed, the Virgin who makes her offering to God.

The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, was entrusted to the Church in the person of Saint John the Apostle at the foot of the Cross. From the Cross, the Church was conceived by the outpouring of grace that flowed from Jesus’ Sacred Heart. Our Blessed Mother was present at Pentecost as the Church was born.