Redemptoris Mater (Latin)

Pope John Paul II promulgated Redemptoris Mater (The Mother of the Redeemer) in 1987. The encyclical is a complex exploration of Mariology. The first section, “Mary in the Mystery of Christ,” explains Mary’s role in the divine plan of salvation. The second section, “The Mother of God at the Center of the Pilgrim Church,” discusses Mary’s continuing role as the perfect “mirror” of faith. The pope explains, Mary’s journey of faith becomes one with that of the Church at Pentecost. “Thus, from the very first moment, the Church ‘looked at’ Mary through Jesus, just as she ‘looked at’ Jesus through Mary.” In the third and final section, “Maternal Mediation,” the pope explores Mary as Mediatrix, as the intercessor in unity with both her Son and the pilgrim Church. “Thus, throughout her life, the Church maintains with the Mother of God a link which embraces, in the saving mystery, the past, the present, and the future, and venerates her as the spiritual mother of humanity and the advocate of grace.”