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On 4 November 2025, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) released Mater Populi Fidelis (Doctrinal Note on Some Marian Titles Regarding Mary’s Cooperation in the Work of Salvation) with the intention of clarifying certain Marian titles in use, including Co-Redemptrix, Mediatrix and Mediatrix of All Graces. In previous articles, I have examined the Co-Redemptrix title. Now I will examine the Mediatrix title.
When I started to write this article, I intended to cover both the Mediatrix title and the Mediatrix of All Graces title. The original draft turned out to be too long so I have decided to treat the two titles in separate articles.
It is long established in Church teaching and Scripture that Our Blessed Mother Mary plays a unique and vital supporting role in the salvation of humanity affected by Our Lord and Savior, Her Son, Jesus, and in the Church that he established. “Mary’s role in the Church is inseparable from her union with Christ and flows directly from it,” states the Catechism of the Catholic Church (see paragraph 964). Mater Populi Fidelis declares “Mary’s participation in Christ’s saving work is attested to in Scripture, which presents the saving event accomplished in Jesus Christ as a promise in the Old Testament and as a fulfillment in the New Testament” (see paragraph 5). See
The titles Mediator / Mediatrix refers to one person acting to intercede or advocate for another. In spiritual terms, mediation refers to interceding, praying or advocating for another with God. “The biblical statement about Christ’s exclusive mediation is conclusive. Christ is the only Mediator, ‘for there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all” (1 Tim 2:5-6),’ states Mater Populi Fidelis (see paragraph 24). This is not to say that we cannot participate and/or assist Christ with his Divine mission of redemption and salvation. As Mater Populi Fidelis points out, “At the same time, we need to remember that the unicity of Christ’s mediation is “inclusive.” He enables various forms of participation in his salvific plan because, in communion with him, we can all become, in some way, cooperators with God and “mediators” for one another (cf. 1 Cor 3:9).” (See paragraph 28).
The suffix -ix feminizes the word Mediator, hence Mediatrix is sometimes used in reference to Our Blessed Mother Mary’s role in the salvation of humanity. As the Mother of God, Mary certainly plays a unique role of cooperation with her Son in our salvation unlike that of any other human being, which Mater Populi Fidelis emphasizes repeatedly. “From the Incarnation to the cross and the Resurrection, she was united to Christ in a way that is unique and that far surpasses any other believer,” states Mater Populi Fidelis (see paragraph 32). Then in paragraph 42, Mater Populi Fidelis states “Among those chosen and glorified with Christ, first and foremost is his Mother. Therefore, we can affirm that Mary has a unique collaboration in the saving work that Christ carries out in his Church.”
In Mater Populi Fidelis, the DDF is not prohibiting the use of the title Mediatrix for Our Blessed Mother. Rather the DDF is urging caution in how the title is used. “Given this clarity in the revealed Word of God, special prudence is required when applying the term “Mediatrix” to Mary,” states Mater Populi Fidelis in paragraph 24. The DDF cautions us that the use of the title be done with Mary being subordinate to Jesus. “Used in this way, it does not intend to add any efficacy or power to the unique mediation of Jesus Christ, true God and true man,” states Mater Populi Fidelis in paragraph 25.
Several Popes have used the title Mediatrix, including Blessed Pope Pius IX, and Pope Saint Pius X. In considering what Popes have said and written on Marian titles, it is important to consider the context in which they did so. Blessed Pope Pius IX used the title Mediatrix once in his 1854 encyclical Ineffabilis Deus but the purpose of that encyclical was to promulgate the Dogma of Mary’s Immaculate Conception, not promote use of the Mediatrix title. Pope Saint Pius X used the term Mediatrix in his 1904 encyclical Ad Diem Illum Laetissimum but he was repeating Blessed Pope Pius IX’s use of the title in his encyclical Ineffabilis Deus. Similarly, Pope Saint Pius X was not promoting the use of the title Mediatrix in his 1904 encyclical. Rather Pope Pius X was celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception.
The Second Vatican Council and the Catechism of the Catholic Church both approve the use of the title Mediatrix for Our Blessed Mother. Paragraph 62 of Lumen Gentium (The Dogmatic Constitution on the Church) states
“This maternity of Mary in the order of grace began with the consent which she gave in faith at the Annunciation and which she sustained without wavering beneath the cross, and lasts until the eternal fulfillment of all the elect. Taken up to heaven she did not lay aside this salvific duty, but by her constant intercession continued to bring us the gifts of eternal salvation.(15*) By her maternal charity, she cares for the brethren of her Son, who still journey on earth surrounded by dangers and cultics, until they are led into the happiness of their true home. Therefore the Blessed Virgin is invoked by the Church under the titles of Advocate, Auxiliatrix, Adjutrix, and Mediatrix.(16*) This, however, is to be so understood that it neither takes away from nor adds anything to the dignity and efficaciousness of Christ the one Mediator.(17*)”
The Catechism of the Catholic Church relies heavily upon Lumen Gentium for its discussion of Our Blessed Mother and quotes from it numerous times, especially in paragraphs 964 to 971.
As Reverend Monsignor Thomas G. Guarino, professor emeritus of systematic theology at Seton Hall University explains in his 25 November 2025 article “The Mediatrix Question,” the title Mediatrix was vigorously debated during the Second Vatican Council. “More than sixty years ago, there was, in fact, an intense battle in the council’s Theological Commission (also called the De Fide) over whether this term should be attributed to Mary by an ecumenical council,” he writes. Ultimately the Vatican II Council did include the title Mediatrix in paragraph 62 of Lumen Gentium. See https://firstthings.com/the-mediatrix-question/
Mater Populi Fidelis is not an infallible statement but it is binding upon the faithful. It can be revised by a Pope, Church Council or the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith itself in the future. For now, the Dicastery and the Church are permitting the use of the title Mediatrix for Our Blessed Mother, provided that doing so does not diminish Jesus’s preeminent role in affecting humanity’s redemption.
Bryan J. Dickerson is an author and historian specializing in military and naval history, and Catholicism. He earned his BA in History from Rowan University (NJ), MA in American History from Monmouth University (NJ) and a graduate Certificate in Archival Studies from Louisiana State University. His writings have appeared online and in print in such publications as Columbia (the magazine of the Knights of Columbus) and Celebrate Life (the magazine of the American Life League). He is a 4th Degree member of the Knights of Columbus and a Past Grand Knight of a council in New Jersey. His book The Liberators of Pilsen: the U.S. 16th Armored Division in World War II Czechoslovakia was published by McFarland Books in 2018 and his book Dive Bomber Down: James A. Nist Naval Aviator in the Pacific War is now available from McFarland Books. He has also self-published sixeen books, including In the Name of COVID: The Assault on Religious Freedom in 2020. A former U.S. Navy Reserve Religious Program Specialist 1st Class (Fleet Marine Force), he mobilized and deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom twice. He and his wife Lisa have four children and live in southern New Jersey.
