The Mariology of the popes is the theological study of the influence that the popes have had on the development, formulation and transformation of the Roman Catholic Church's doctrines and devotions relating to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The development of Mariology over the centuries has been influenced by a number of factors, among which papal directives have often represented key milestones. Examples of papal influences include new Marian feast days, prayers, acceptance of new Marian congregations, indulgences, support for Marian apparitions (e.g. Lourdes and Fatima) and declaration of Marian dogmas.

"The century preceding the Second Vatican Council was arguably the most fertile era for Catholic Marian studies." A number of popes have made Marian themes a key part of their papacy, e.g. Leo XIII issued a record eleven encyclicals on the rosary, Pius XII invoked the case of ex cathedra papal infallibility to establish a Marian dogma and John Paul II built his personal coat of arms around the Marian Cross.

Popes have also highlighted the key Catholic Mariological theme of the link between the study of Mary and the development of a full Christology, e.g. as in Pius XII's Mystici corporis Christi and John Paul II's Redemptoris Mater.

Papal influences on Mariology Popes were highly important for the development of doctrine and the veneration of the Blessed Virgin.McLoughlin, William M. and Pinnock, Jill. Mary for Time and Eternity, 2007 pp. 65-67 They made decisions not only in the area of Marian beliefs (Mariology) but also Marian practices and devotions. Popes promulgated Marian veneration and beliefs by authorizing: new Marian feast days, Marian prayers and initiatives, acceptance and support of Marian congregations, indulgences and special privileges, and support for Marian devotions.

The formal recognition of Marian apparitions (such as at Lourdes and Fatima) has also been influential. Popes have promoted Marian devotion through encyclicals, Apostolic Letters and with two dogmas (Immaculate Conception and Assumption), the promulgation of Marian years (Pius XII, John Paul II), visits to Marian shrines (Benedict XVI in 2007) and in 2018 Pope Francis decreed that the Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church be inserted into the Roman Calendar on the Monday after Pentecost (also known as Whit Monday).

Popular views like the Immaculate Conception and Assumption developed into papal teaching over time. Popes have also limited and cautioned against some devotional practices. In 1674 Pope Clement X (1670–1676) indexed books on Marian piety. After the Council of Trent, Marian fraternities were founded, fostering Marian piety, not all of which were approved.

Not all Popes took the same view on Marian beliefs and devotions. Pope Francis warned that it could not please Mary if we honor her in a way that diminishes the honor given to her divine Son.

13th to the 17th centuries

Clement IV Pope Clement IV (1265–1268) created a poem on the seven joys of Mary, which in its form is considered an early version of the Franciscan rosary.

Pius V On September 17, 1569, Pope Pius V issued the papal bull Consueverunt Romani Pontifices which popularized the rosary. Before the Battle of Lepanto in 1571 Pius V requested to the people of Europe to pray the rosary. After the victory of the Holy League, he declared a commemorative feast that later became the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary.Butler, Alban, Butler's Lives Of The Saints, (April) (1999) page 222 Pius V included in the catechism he promulgated the second part of the Hail Mary that had just been added in the Council of Trent: "Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners."The catechism of the Council of Trent by Theodore Alois Buckley 2010 . "PART IV: THE LORD'S PRAYER: PRAYER: Importance Of Instruction On Prayer".

Clement VIII Pope Clement VIII (1592–1605) considered Marian piety the basis for Church reforms and issued the bull Dominici gregis (February 3, 1603) to condemn negations of the virginity of Mary. He promulgated Marian congregations and supported the rosary culture with 19 Papal bulls.

Clement X Pope Clement X (1670–1676) furthered Marian piety with additional indulgences and privileges to religious orders and cities to celebrate special Marian feasts. He opposed the Marian piety of Louis de Montfort (canonized by Pope Pius XII) with a bull published on December 15, 1673, and outlawed some manifestations of Marian devotions. Several bulls supported the frequent reciting of the rosary.

18th century

Clement XI Pope Clement XI (1700–1721) prepared the groundwork for the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. He permitted the title “Immaculate Conception” and instructed the Holy Office in 1712 not to persecute anyone invoking Mary using this title. The Feast of the Immaculate Conception, which existed only regionally, was prescribed for the whole Church. The Pope recommended the teachings and piety of Louis de Montfort and named him “Apostolic Missionary of France” On October 3, 1716, Clement XI extended the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary to the Universal Church.

Benedict XIII Pope Benedict XIII (1724–1730) issued several indulgences in support of the rosary prayer, rosary processions and for praying the rosary on 15 “Marian Tuesdays”. He outlawed the Serafine rosary in 1727 and extended the feasts of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows and Our Lady of Mount Carmel to the whole Church.

Clement XII Pope Clement XII (1758–1769) banned all Marian litanies except the Litany of Loreto. In 1770 he permitted Spain to have the Immaculata as the main patron of the country, and in 1767 he granted Spain the privilege of adding Mater Immaculata to the litany.

Benedict XIV Pope Benedict XIV wrote books about the feast days of Christ and Mary – De festis Christi at BMV.Opera Omnia Roma, 1747, 51 He supported the Marian congregations for the Sodality of Our Lady with the bull Gloriosae Dominae, issued on September 27, 1748, and increased indulgences for all who pray the rosary.

Clement XIV Pope Clement XIV (1769–1775) had to deal with popular unrest in Southern Italy regarding celebrations and processions of the Immaculate Conception. He granted a privilege to the Franciscans in Palermo that only they may celebrate the feast of the Immaculate Conception. Later he extended the privilege to other orders for private Masses only. He outlawed the brotherhood of the Immaculate Conception but confirmed a knightly order with the same name. Allegedly, he had promised the King of Spain to dogmatize the Immaculate Conception.F Masson, Le Cardinal de Bernis depuis son minister Paris, 1884, 156, 164

19th century

Pius IX

The Mariology of Pope Pius IX (1846–1878) represents a significant development of Roman Catholic theology, since it led to the promulgation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. Catholic theology in the 19th century was dominated by the issue of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary. During his pontificate petitions increased requesting the dogmatization of the Immaculate Conception. In 1848 Pius appointed a theological commission to analyze the possibility for a Marian dogma.

In 1848 the Pope had to flee Rome, when a revolutionary movement took over the Papal States and city government. From his exile in Gaeta he issued the encyclical Ubi primum, seeking the opinions of the bishops on the Immaculate Conception. Over 90 per cent of the bishops requested the dogmatization. Pius IX moved cautiously, on May 10, 1852, appointing a commission of twenty theologians to prepare a possible text of the dogma. Upon their completion, on December 2, 1852, he asked a commission of cardinals to finalize the text.

This influenced the eventual promulgation of the dogma of the Assumption. Pius IX's approach of seeking collegial consensus was quoted by Pope Pius XII, when in Deiparae Virginis Mariae he inquired of the bishops about a possible dogma of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary.

1854 proclamation of the Immaculate Conception It was not until 1854 that Pius IX, with the support of the overwhelming majority of Roman Catholic Bishops, proclaimed the Immaculate Conception.The Holy Spirit Assists the Roman Pontiff Eight years earlier, in 1846, the Pope had granted the unanimous wish of the bishops from the United States, and declared the Immaculata the patron of the US. During the First Vatican Council, some 108 council fathers requested to add the words "Immaculate Virgin" to the Hail Mary.and to add the Immaculata to the Litany of Loreto. Some fathers requested the dogma of the Immaculate Conception to be included in the Creed of the Church, which was opposed by Pius IX.

Rejection of a dogma of the Assumption During the First Vatican Council, nine Mariological petitions favored a possible assumption dogma, but this was strongly opposed by some council fathers, especially from Germany. On 8 May the fathers rejected a dogmatization at that time, a rejection shared by Pius IX. Council fathers highlighted the divine motherhood of Mary and called her the mother of all graces.

Pius IX believed in the Assumption of Mary, and recognized the close relation between the Immaculate Conception of Mary and her being taken up into heaven. He resisted attempts, however, to issue a second Marian dogma within two decades. He attributed to Mary his narrow escape from Rome to Gaeta in 1848.

Leo XIII

In his encyclical on the fiftieth anniversary of the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception, Pope Leo XIII (1878-1903) stressed Mary's role in the redemption of humanity. His mariology was greatly influenced by Thomas Aquinas, especially his view of Mary's role in the Annunciation. Leo's emphasis on the path through Mary to Christ has been a key direction in Roman Catholic Mariology, with Mariology viewed as inherent in Christology, and the rosary paving that path.Pius XII Mystici corporis Christi; John Henry Newman: Mariology is always christocentric, in Michael Testa, Mary: The Virgin Mary in the Life and Writings of John Henry Newman 2001; Mariology Is Christology in Vittorio Messori, "The Mary Hypothesis" Rome, 2005

Pope Leo XIII issued a record number of encyclicals on the rosary, instituted the Catholic custom of daily rosary prayer during the month of October, and created in 1883 the Feast of Queen of the Holy Rosary. Leo XIII promulgated Marian devotions via twelve encyclicals on the rosary. A century after his death, Leo XIII is often quoted, most recently by Pope Benedict XVI and John Paul II.

He applied the Marian analysis of Louis de Montfort to the analysis of the Church as a whole.Köster 54 Leo actively employed his papal authority to support the veneration of Mary in places of her apparitions. Upon the blessing and opening of the Church of our Lady in Lourdes, he issued the apostolic writing Parte humanae generi supporting pilgrimages to Lourdes and other Marian shrines.

Leo XIII declared the Virgin of Montserrat to be the patron of Catalonia, and instituted the Feast of the Miraculous Medal in 1894. He condemned heresies about the Immaculate ConceptionRosmini and discussed the relation of Saint Joseph to Mary in the encyclical Quamquam pluries (August 15, 1889).Epistola Encyclica De patrocinio Sancti Josephi una cum Virginis Deiparae pro temporum difficultate implorando in Lettres apostoliques de s.s. Léon XIII : encycliques, brefs etc, p. 250-261

Leo XIII explained the importance of the rosary as the one road to God, from the father to the Son, to his Mother, and from her to the human race. The rosary is a vital means to participate in the life of Mary and to find the way to Christ.Encyclical Jucunda Semper 8.9.1894 quoted in Marienlexikon, Eos St. Ottilien, 1988 42

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