The ancient devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, under the title of Mother of the Church, has been established and decreed by Holy Father Pope Francis. His Holiness Pope Francis inserted a new feast; liturgical celebration, B. Mariæ Virginis, Ecclesiæ Matris, into the Roman Calendar, which will be annually celebrated as a Memorial on the day after Pentecost. The decree reflects on the history of Marian theology in the Church’s liturgical tradition and the writings of the Church Fathers.
As reported by Vatican Radio, His Eminence Cardinal Robert Sarah, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, remarked that “The Pope’s decision took account of tradition surrounding the devotion to Mary as Mother of the Church. The Holy Father wishes to promote this devotion in order to encourage the growth of the maternal sense of the Church in the pastors, religious, faithful, as well as a growth of genuine Marian piety.”
In the Holy Year of Reconciliation in 1975, the Church inserted into the Roman Missal a votive Mass in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church.With the present decree, Pope Francis inserts that celebration into the universal Church’s liturgy as a Memorial on a fixed date.
