Mediatrix
Encyclopedia
Mediatrix in Roman Catholic Mariology refers to the role of the Blessed Virgin Mary as a mediator in the salvation process. It is a separate concept from Co-Redemptrix
Co-Redemptrix
Co-Redemptrix, a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, refers to her role in the Redemption process.The concept of Co-redemptrix refers to an indirect or unequal but important participation by the Blessed Virgin Mary in redemption, notably: that she gave free consent to give life to the Redeemer, to...

.

That Mary is Mediatrix of graces at a level higher than the mediation of other saints is accepted without question in the Catholic Church. She is such in two ways: Mary gave birth to the Redeemer, who is the fountain of all grace. Therefore she participated in the mediating of grace. A second opinion states that Mary, assumed into heaven, participates in the mediating of divine graces of her son. Popes such as Leo XIII, Pius XII and John Paul II have traditionally supported both interpretations.

The view that Mary is Mediatrix of all graces, a view held by some Catholics, has not been formally defined as a Marian dogma, although petitions for declaring it (along with Co-Redemptrix
Co-Redemptrix
Co-Redemptrix, a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, refers to her role in the Redemption process.The concept of Co-redemptrix refers to an indirect or unequal but important participation by the Blessed Virgin Mary in redemption, notably: that she gave free consent to give life to the Redeemer, to...

) a dogma have been submitted to the pope by various cardinals and bishops. It would become a fifth Marian dogma if approved by the Holy See
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...

.

Early references

Saint Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas, O.P. , also Thomas of Aquin or Aquino, was an Italian Dominican priest of the Catholic Church, and an immensely influential philosopher and theologian in the tradition of scholasticism, known as Doctor Angelicus, Doctor Communis, or Doctor Universalis...

 argued that only Christ can be the perfect mediator between God and mankind. But this does not hinder the fact that others are called mediator because they assist and prepare the union between God and man. There is no question among Catholic theologians, that Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God and the human race.

But this does not exclude a participation of the Virgin Mary vicariously in the one mediatorship of her Son. Early indications of this notion goes back to a prayer attributed to Ephrem the Syrian
Ephrem the Syrian
Ephrem the Syrian was a Syriac and a prolific Syriac-language hymnographer and theologian of the 4th century. He is venerated by Christians throughout the world, and especially in the Syriac Orthodox Church, as a saint.Ephrem wrote a wide variety of hymns, poems, and sermons in verse, as well as...

 (306-373):
After the mediator, the mediatrix of the whole world

19th century views

In the 19th century, the word "mediatrix" appears in the papal bull Ineffabilis Deus
Ineffabilis Deus
Ineffabilis Deus is the name of a Papal bull by Pope Pius IX. It defines ex cathedra the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary...

 of Pope Pius IX
Pope Pius IX
Blessed Pope Pius IX , born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, was the longest-reigning elected Pope in the history of the Catholic Church, serving from 16 June 1846 until his death, a period of nearly 32 years. During his pontificate, he convened the First Vatican Council in 1869, which decreed papal...

 and in several rosary
Rosary
The rosary or "garland of roses" is a traditional Catholic devotion. The term denotes the prayer beads used to count the series of prayers that make up the rosary...

 encyclicals of Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII , born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci to an Italian comital family, was the 256th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, reigning from 1878 to 1903...

,.

20th-century use

Pope Pius X
Pope Pius X
Pope Saint Pius X , born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, was the 257th Pope of the Catholic Church, serving from 1903 to 1914. He was the first pope since Pope Pius V to be canonized. Pius X rejected modernist interpretations of Catholic doctrine, promoting traditional devotional practices and orthodox...

 used the word "mediatrix" of Mary in the encyclical Ad Diem Illum
Ad Diem Illum
Ad diem Illum Laetissimum is an encyclical of Saint Pope Pius X on the Immaculate Conception, Given at Rome in St. Peter's on the second day of February, 1904, in the first year of his Pontificate. It is issued in commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the dogma of the Immaculate conception...

. It appears, combined with the phrase "all" graces in the title of the feast day of Mary Mediatrix of all graces
Mary Mediatrix of all graces
"Mary, Mediatrix of all graces" is a title that some give to Mary the mother of Jesus, in line with a belief that all the graces that her son gives come through her.-Proposal for formal definition by the Catholic Church:...

 that Pope Benedict XV
Pope Benedict XV
Pope Benedict XV , born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, reigned as Pope from 3 September 1914 to 22 January 1922...

 authorized for celebration in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

 it 1921. The date assigned for this celebration was 31 May, the same day on which other places were authorized to celebrate the Blessed Virgin Mary Queen of All Saints and Mother of Fair Love or Our Lady of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Recent papal views

In his encyclical
Encyclical
An encyclical was originally a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Catholic Church. At that time, the word could be used for a letter sent out by any bishop...

 Redemptoris Mater
Redemptoris Mater
Redemptoris Mater is the name for certain Roman Catholic seminaries which operate under the auspices of the Neocatechumenal Way and claim as their mission the formation of priests for the "New Evangelization". These seminaries are distributed worldwide, with nearly 1,500 seminarians currently in...

, Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...

 said:
Thus there is a mediation: Mary places herself between her Son and mankind in the reality of their wants, needs and sufferings. She puts herself "in the middle," that is to say she acts as a mediatrix not as an outsider, but in her position as mother. She knows that as such she can point out to her Son the needs of mankind, and in fact, she "has the right" to do so. Her mediation is thus in the nature of intercession: Mary "intercedes" for mankind.

Medjugorje

The reported Marian messages from Međugorje refer both to the term "mediator" and "mediatrix". A message from October 7, 1981 reported by the children at Međugorje reads
The seers: "Is there, outside of Jesus, other intermediaries between God and man, and what is their role?"
There is only one mediator between God and man, and it is Jesus Christ."


Also a message from the same apparition site from 1983 reads
"The sole mediator of salvation is Jesus Christ."


And a message reported in 1984 states:
"You must know there is only one God and only one Mediator Jesus Christ".


A message attributed by the children to the Virgin Mary from July 17, 1986 states:
"I am the Mediatrix between you and God".


The Croatian original of this message reads
"Ja sam Posrednica između vas i Boga. (I am mediatrix/arbitratrix/intercessor/agent between you and God)"


In the Chronological Corpus of the Messages of Mariologian René Laurentin this message reads:
"I am the intercessor between you and God."


Or, in its French original:
J'exerce une médiation entre vous et Dieu. (I exercise a mediation between you and God)"


There are many messages of Medjugorje in which the apparition states that she intercedes between the addressed persons and Jesus or God.

Popular and clerical support

Popular support for Mary as Mediatrix has appeared in recent times both from lay groups and the clergy. A lay movement called Vox Populi Mariae Mediatrici is promoting the doctrine of Mary as Mediatrix and provides petitions that can be signed by Roman Catholics at large and sent to the Pope in support of a formal dogmatic definition.

On February 8, 2008 five Roman Catholic Cardinals issued a petition asking Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...

 to dogmatically declare the Blessed Virgin Mary as both Co-Redemptrix
Co-Redemptrix
Co-Redemptrix, a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, refers to her role in the Redemption process.The concept of Co-redemptrix refers to an indirect or unequal but important participation by the Blessed Virgin Mary in redemption, notably: that she gave free consent to give life to the Redeemer, to...

 and Mediatrix. The five Cardinals were Telesphore Toppo, Luis Aponte Martínez
Luis Aponte Martínez
Luis Aponte Martínez is the only Puerto Rican ever to be consecrated a cardinal of the Catholic Church, and for 34 years was the Archbishop of San Juan. Cardinal Aponte was a cardinal elector in the two conclaves of 1978....

, Mar Varkey Vithayathil, Riccardo Vidal, and the late Ernesto Corripio y Ahumada. The Cardinals also included a votum (i.e. petition) that would allow other cardinals and bishops to also request the same from the pontiff. This would in effect create a fifth Marian dogma if approved by the Holy See
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...

. To date over 500 bishops have sent in their votums to the Vatican in support of a fifth Marian dogma.
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