Blessed Virgin Mary (Roman Catholic)

Blessed Virgin Mary (Roman Catholic)

Roman Catholic veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary (the mother of Jesus) is based on dogma as well as Scripture. The incarnation of the Son of God through Mary thus signifies her honor as Mother of God. From the Council of Ephesus in 431, which dogmatized this belief, to the Second Vatican Council and Pope John Paul II's encyclical Redemptoris Mater, the Virgin Mary has come to be seen and venerated not only as the Mother of God but also as the Mother of the Church.

As the mother of Jesus, Mary has a central role in the Roman Catholic Church. The church's veneration of her as the Blessed Virgin Mary has grown over time both in importance and manifestation, not only in prayer but in art, poetry and music. Popes have encouraged this veneration but from time to time have also taken steps to reform it. Overall, there are significantly more titles, feasts and venerative Marian practices among Roman Catholics than any other Christian traditions. Pope Benedict XVI maintains that the Virgin Mary possesses divine motherhood which she continues to bestow as intercessory "graces associated with God's blessing."

The key role of the Virgin Mary in Roman Catholic beliefs, her veneration, and the growth of Roman Catholic Mariology have not only come about by official statements made in Rome but have often been driven from the ground up, by the Marian writings of the saints and from the masses of believers, and at times via reported Marian apparitions to young and simple children on remote hilltops. The Holy See continues to approve of Marian apparitions on remote mountains, the latest approval being as recent as May 2008. Some apparitions, such as Fatima, have given rise to Marian Movements and Societies with millions of members, and many other Marian societies exist around the world.