Taking the Sting out of Mater Populi Fidelis

Catholics with a particular devotion to Mary may be feeling the sting of rejection this month. Requests for a fifth Marian dogma have been dismissed by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. In its Doctrinal Note, Mater Populi Fidelis, signed by Prefect Victor Manuel Cardinal Fernandez, the Dicastery responds in the negative to requests for a dogma recognizing Mary as “Co-Redemptrix” and “Mediatrix of All Graces.”

Pope Leo XIV approved the Note on the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, October 7, 2025, four weeks before its publication. This is not the first time the movement to formalize these titles has been denied. In 1996 and again in 2002, then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger gave the same answer, citing three basic reasons: the precise meaning of the titles is not clear, the doctrine contained in them is not mature, and the titles are not supported in Scripture or Tradition. In his 2002 remarks, Ratzinger specified that the wording, “Co-Redemptrix,” obscures the fact that everything Mary is, she is through Christ (19).

While Marian devotees view the response as a slight against devotion to the Mother of God, humility urges that all maintain peaceful hearts. Surprisingly, consolation to those disappointed by the Dicastery’s finding is available in an unexpected source, Mater Populi Fidelis itself. Read in a prudential light, the Doctrinal Note provides rich catechesis on Mary’s role in redemption, and rather than downgrading, encourages devotion to Mary. It is worth reading, not primarily for what it says we may not call Mary, but for what it says that honors her.

Mater Populi Fidelis begins with assurances that its intent is to appreciate, acknowledge, and encourage the piety of the people of God. The stated purpose of the text is to determine what titles for Mary are or are not appropriate, and in so doing, “to deepen the proper foundations of Marian devotion.” Running through the entire document is one theme: Mary’s Motherhood with respect to believers.

Faithful Catholics will find in Mater Populi Fidelis the well-established doctrine of Mary’s role in human redemption, both her participation in the objective redemption by Christ during his life, and her current influence on the redeemed in Christ (4). The Note cites the early Church Fathers’ teaching of Mary’s divine motherhood, perpetual virginity, perfect holiness, and role as the new Eve in the Incarnation (9). It references evidence of Marian dogma in early Church hymnography and iconography (music and art). Especially meaningful is the fact that in ancient icons of Mary and the Christ Child, one of Mary’s hands holds the Child while the other gestures to him. Thus, Mary always directs us to her Son (11).

The Note speaks beautifully about Mary, calling her “a hymn to the efficacy of God’s grace” (33) and “a motherly sign of the Lord’s mercy” (42). It relates occasions when Mary has prayed with the faithful, in the Magnificat at the Visitation, at Cana, and on Pentecost (41), as evidence of her effective, maternal intercession. Quoting Lumen Gentium, the Note says, “The Blessed Virgin’s salutary influence… does not hinder in any way the immediate union of the faithful with Christ but, rather, fosters it” (55).  

The document delves deeply into some points of doctrine, delivering what is likely catechesis, if not review, for many of the faithful. For example, in its discussion of the Immaculate Conception, Mater Populi Fidelis identifies Mary as the first to be redeemed (14). It may come as a surprise to old-school Catholics that Mary needed redemption at all, having been conceived without sin. However, her Immaculate Conception in itself was Mary’s redemption. God redeemed her in this special way, filling her with grace. Thus, redeemed by Christ and transformed by the Holy Spirit prior to her birth, the Doctrinal Note explains, “Mary is able to cooperate more intensely and profoundly with Christ and the Spirit, becoming the prototype, model and exemplar of what God wants to accomplish in every person who is redeemed.”

The Note contains an edifying catechesis on grace, defined as the indwelling of God in human hearts (45). Grace helps us to become like Christ. As taught in our catechism days, sanctifying grace is that sacramental grace which justifies and saves us. Actual graces are those which prepare one for sanctifying grace. For those already in the state of sanctifying grace, actual graces help them toward further growth in holiness. The discussion goes on to distinguish between “the Trinitarian indwelling (uncreated grace) and our participation in divine life (created grace)” which are inseparable.

All of these kinds of grace come from God alone; no creature can give grace to another. We can, however, pray for others to receive grace. All who pray in this way are mediators. This is where the title, “Mediatrix of All Graces,” enters the discussion.

The catechesis on grace affirms that Mary intercedes for us to receive grace. Thus, Mary is a Mediatrix. Being full of grace and Mother of God, she is the most efficacious Mediatrix one can have. In addition, she prepares our hearts for this grace. To call Mary “Mediatrix of All Graces,” however, creates an image of Mary as a fountain of grace, so to speak, which is inaccurate since grace comes only from God. One may receive grace due to Mary’s intercession, but the idea that grace somehow passes through Mary’s hands before it reaches the human soul is not supported by Church teaching. The liturgy of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, which Catholics hear at Mass annually, says that Mary became an “advocate of grace,” which indicates intercession, not distribution (4).

Another difficulty with “Mediatrix of All Graces” is that Mary herself received the grace of God. Certainly, she could not have been the mediatrix of her own sanctifying grace. Yet the word “all” is absolute; it allows for no exceptions.

None of this diminishes the importance of Mary’s role in our lives. From her special position, full of grace and transformed by the Holy Spirit, Mary is the most perfect expression of Christ’s transformative action in a human soul (14).

The Second Vatican Council preferred “Mother in the Order of Grace” as a Marian title, pointing to her as the Mother of Christ, who is the Author of grace (71, 72). In this capacity, as the Mother whom Christ gave to us on Calvary, Mary can have an individual, unrepeatable relationship with each of her spiritual sons and daughters (72). Pope Saint John Paul II spoke of “a Marian dimension in the life of a disciple of Christ” (JPII, Redemptoris Mater). Mater Populi Fidelis asserts that a life of grace includes union with Christ’s Mother in a relationship of trust, tenderness, and affection (72).

A complete analysis of Mater Populi Fidelis is beyond the scope of an article of this size. This discussion intends to highlight inspirational and doctrinal aspects of the Dicastery’s Note. Perhaps what is needed is not a new dogma, but increased devotion. Mary, Mother of the Faithful People of God, pray for us.