Mary, the mother of Jesus is known in Christianity by many different titles (Blessed Mother, Virgin Mary, Mother of God, Our Lady, Holy Virgin, Madonna), epithets (Star of the Sea, Queen of Heaven, Cause of Our Joy), invocations (Panagia, Mother of Mercy, God-bearer Theotokos), and several names associated with places (Our Lady of Loreto, Our Lady of Fátima, Our Lady of Guadalupe).
All of these descriptives refer to the same woman named Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ (in the New Testament). They are used differently by Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and some Anglicans. (Note: Mary Magdalene, Mary of Clopas, and Mary Salome are different women.)
Some descriptives of Mary are properly titles, dogmatic in nature, while some are invocations. Other descriptives are poetic or allegorical or have lesser or no canonical status, but form part of popular piety, with varying degrees of acceptance by Church authorities. Another class of titles refer to depictions of Mary in Catholic Marian art and in art generally. A rich range of Marian titles also are used in musical settings of pieces dedicated to her.
Historical and cultural context
The relatively large number of titles given to Mary may be explained in several ways."Why does Mary have So Many Different Titles?" All About Mary, International Marian Research Institute, University of Dayton. Some titles grew due to geographic and cultural reasons, e.g., through the veneration of specific icons. Others were related to Marian apparitions.
Mary's intercession is sought for a large spectrum of human needs in varied situations. This has led to the formulation of many of her titles (good counsel, Help of the Sick, etc.). Moreover, meditations and devotions on the different aspects of Mary's role in the life of Jesus have led to additional titles, such as Our Lady of Sorrows. Still further titles have been derived from dogmas and doctrines, such as, the Assumption of Mary, Dormition of the Mother of God and Immaculate Conception.
The veneration of Mary was consolidated in the year 431 when, at the Council of Ephesus, the descriptive, , or Mary the bearer (or mother) of God, was declared a dogma. Thereafter Marian devotion, centred on the subtle and complex relationship between Mary, Jesus, and the Church, began to flourish, first in the East and later in the West.
The Reformation diminished Mary's role in many parts of Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries. The Council of Trent and Counter Reformation intensified Marian devotion among Roman Catholics. Around the same period, Mary became an instrument of evangelisation in the Americas and parts of Asia and Africa, e.g. gaining impetus from reported apparitions at Our Lady of Guadalupe, which resulted in a large number of conversions to Christianity in Mexico.
Following the Reformation, baroque literature on Mary experienced unprecedented growth, with over 500 instances of Mariological writings during the 17th century alone.Roskovany, A., conceptu immacolata ex monumentis omnium seculrorum demonstrate III, Budapest 1873 During the Age of Enlightenment, the emphasis on scientific progress and rationalism put Catholic theology and Mariology often on the defensive later in the 18th century. Books, such as The Glories of Mary by Alphonsus Liguori, were written in defence of the cult of Mary.
Dogmatic titles
Mother of God: The Council of Ephesus decreed in 431 that Mary is ("God-bearer") because her son Jesus is both God and man: one Divine Person with two natures (divine and human). This name was translated in the West as or Mother of God. From this derives the title "Blessed Mother". Virgin Mary: The doctrine of the perpetual virginity of Mary developed early in Christianity and was taught by the early Fathers, such as, Irenaeus and Clement of Alexandria (and others). In the fourth century "ever-virgin" became a popular title for Mary. Variations on this include the "Virgin Mary", the "Blessed Virgin", the "Blessed Virgin Mary", and "Spouse of the Holy Spirit". The perpetual virginity of Mary was declared a dogma by the Lateran Council of 649. Immaculate Conception: The dogma that Mary was conceived without original sin was defined in 1854, by Pope Pius IX's apostolic constitution Ineffabilis Deus. This gave rise to the titles of "Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception" and "Queen Conceived Without Original Sin". The Immaculate Conception is also honored under the titles of Our Lady of Lourdes, Our Lady of Caysasay (Philippines),"In Honor of Nuestra Señora de Guia", De Anda (2009-11-22), Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn in Vilnius, Our Lady of Guidance, and Our Lady of Salambao, also in the Philippines. Assumption: The belief that the Virgin Mary was assumed body and soul into heaven upon completing the course of her earthly life was declared a dogma in 1950 by Pope Pius XII in the apostolic constitution Munificentissimus Deus. The titles "Our Lady of Assumption" and "Queen Assumed Into Heaven" derive from this. This dogma is also reflected in devotion to Our Lady of Ta' Pinu on Malta.
In the Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches the Assumption of Mary may be celebrated as the Dormition, or the "Falling Asleep" of the Mother of God, it is an important feast day, not based on a scriptural canon but affirmed by tradition.
Early titles of Mary
"Our Lady" is a common title to give to Mary as a sign of respect and honor. In French she is called , in Spanish . Madonna means the same in medieval Italian, and is commonly used in reference to artistic depictions of Mary.Johannes Schneider, Virgo Ecclesia Facta, 2004, p. 74 . Michael O'Carroll, Theotokos: A Theological Encyclopedia of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 2000, p. 127
Mary was identified as the "New Eve" at least as early as the later half of the Second Century. Justin Martyr (100–165) draws the connection in his Dialogue with Trypho. This idea is later expanded by Irenaeus.Mauriello, Matthew R., "Mary the New Eve," Frei Francisco. John Chrysostom, in 345, was the first person to use the Marian title Mary Help of Christians as a devotion to the Virgin Mary. Don Bosco promoted devotion to Mary under this title. or Our Lady, Star of the Sea is an ancient title for the Virgin Mary, used to emphasize her role as a sign of hope and a guiding star for Christians. It is attributed to Jerome and cited by Paschasius Radbertus.
English Latin Greek Notes"Our Lady" Commonly used to prefix many Marian titles"Full of Grace", "Blessed", "Most Blessed", "Blessed Virgin Mary", , , (BMV)"... Byzantine inscriptions from Palestine ... in the sixth [century] ... fourteen inscriptions invoke "Holy Mary" (Hagia Maria), eleven more hail her as Theotokos; others add the attribution of "Immaculate" (Akeratos), "Most Blessed" (Kecharitomene), "Mistress" (Despoina), "Virgin" or "Ever-Virgin" (Aei-Parthenos)." ()from the angel's greeting to Mary in ;"Virgin", "the Virgin""Blue Letter Bible" lexicon results for parthenos Retrieved 19 December 2007. ()Greek used in ; Ignatius of Antioch refers to Mary's virginity and motherhood (c. 110);"Cause of our Salvation"according to Irenaeus of Lyons (150–202);"Mother of God" ()often abbr. ΜΡ ΘΥ in Greek iconography;"God-bearer", ()lit. "one who gives birth to God"; a common title in Eastern Christianity with christological implications; adopted officially during Council of Ephesus (431) in response to Nestorianism, which questioned the Church's teaching that Jesus Christ's nature was unified;"Ever-virgin" ()Hippolytus of Rome () held Mary to be "all-holy ever-virgin""Holy Mary", "Saint Mary" ()Greek invocation is infrequent in contemporary Eastern Christianity;The Titles of Saints, Orthodox Holiness, 18 December 2005"Most Holy", ()Hippolytus held Mary to be "all-holy ever-virgin""Most Pure"Parallels have been drawn between the Ark of the Covenant and the Holy Mother. She travels to the hill country of Judea, where John leaps at her approach, Elizabeth cries out and says "Who Am I that the mother of my Lord should come to me", stays in Zechariah's home for three months, blessing it. Afterward she goes to Jerusalem."Immaculate" ()The Angel Gabriel calls Mary "Full of Grace". This is taken by many Christians to imply that Mary was free from all sin."Lady", "Mistress" ()related, "Madonna" (, from ma "my" + donna "lady"; from Latin ); also, "Notre Dame" ();"Queen of Heaven", As the mother of Jesus, who in mainstream Christianity is God and King of Heaven, multiple Christian denominations give her the title "Queen of Heaven". Mary is identified with the figure in ;"Queen of all creation"This term is used by Pope Francis in his encyclical letter Laudato si' (2015).Pope Francis, Laudato si', paragraph 241, published 24 May 2015, accessed 28 May 2024
Papal actions
After the Battle of Lepanto in 1571, Pope Pius V instituted the feast of the Blessed Virgin Mother of Victory. The first Marian image pontifically crowned was Lippo Memmi's painting of La Madonna della Febbre (Madonna of Fever) in the sacristy of Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome on 27 May 1631, by Pope Urban VIII by the Vatican Chapter. The doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of Mary was adopted as church dogma when Pope Pius IX promulgated Ineffabilis Deus in 1854. The encyclical of Pope Pius X commemorated the fiftieth anniversary of the dogma of Immaculate Conception During World War I, Pope Benedict XV added the invocation Mary Queen of Peace to the Litany of Loreto. Pope Pius XII issued the Apostolic constitution to define ex cathedra the dogma of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In 1954, the papal encyclical , issued by Pope Pius XII, explained how Mary is Queen of Heaven In 1960, Pope John XXIII changed the title of the "Feast of the Holy Rosary" (formerly the "Feast of Our Lady of Victory") to the "Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary." Pope John Paul II's 1987 encyclical took the step of addressing the role of the Virgin Mary as . Several Papal actions over the centuries decreed the appellation "Queen of Poland" for Mary, following the solemn vows of King John Casimir Vasa before the papal legate and assembled episcopate, proclaiming Mary "Queen" of all his lands, at Lwów Cathedral on 1 April 1656. The last act was of John Paul II on 1 April 2005, on the eve of his death. The feast of The Most Holy Virgin Mary, Queen of Poland is on 3 May.
Descriptive titles of Mary related to visual arts Image Type Typical Art Style DescriptionEleusa icon "Our Lady of Tenderness"ByzantineIn this 12th-century depiction by an unknown artist, Mary holds her baby's face to her cheek as an expression of maternal tenderness. The evocative pose was copied two centuries later by the great Russian Orthodox iconographer and saint Andrei Rublev. The original was saved from destruction several times in its history. After the Russian Revolution it was housed in the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, but representations from the Russian Orthodox Church ensured it is once again in a nearby church, where services are held.Hodegetria "She Who Shows the Way"ByzantineMary holds Christ in her left hand and with her right hand she "shows the way" by pointing to Him;Sedes Sapientiae "Throne of Wisdom"RomanesqueChrist is seated in His mother Mary's lap, symbolically the "Throne of Wisdom";"Gothic Madonna"GothicBased loosely on Byzantine Hodegetria iconography; typically depicts a standing, smiling Mary and playful Christ Child; considered one of the earliest depictions of Mary that is strictly Western;Madonna. (2008). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 17 February 2008, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: Madonna Lactans "Our Lady Nursing"Gothic and RenaissanceThe Virgin is depicted breastfeeding the Holy Infant. Our Lady Nursing, as painted in the Catacomb of Priscilla in Rome, , is one of the earliest depictions (if not the earliest depiction) of Mary; Discouraged by the Council of Trent and rare subsequently.Mater Misericordiae