Guadalupe, Lourdes, Fátima, Pilar, Dolores, Candelaria or Coromoto. What do all of these names that are so popular with Catholics have in common? All of which refer to the same person: Mary, mother of Jesus.
The above assumes that there are no multiple virgins, but that all these denominations refer to the same young Jewish woman who was born in Nazareth more than 2,000 years ago and who, according to Christian teaching, became pregnant at the age of about 15 through the work of the Holy Spirit; that is, without having had relations with any man.
In Catholic theology this variety of names is called Endorsementsa term that comes from Latin advocarewhich means “to call” or “to summon”.
But why doesn’t Catholic tradition simply give this woman the title “Saint Mary” and why are there so many depictions of her around the world? With the help of experts, Edison Veiga from BBC Brazil Answer this question.
“The names given to the Virgin Mary depend a lot on what she looked like. In general.” You will be given the name of the place where it appeared or the circumstances of its appearance.”explained Father Arnaldo Rodrigues, advisor to the Archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil).
For her part, religious researcher Wilma Steagall De Tommaso, coordinator of the Research Group on Contemporary Sacred Art, Religion and History at the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo (PUC-SP), assured that these nomenclatures would ultimately change. “For every city, every region, every culture”due to “titles corresponding to events arising from countless situations.”
The member of the Council of the Marian Academy of Aparecida explained that many of these titles are dogmatic and refer to the dogmas of the Catholic Church about the Virgin Mary, which, according to religious tradition, are truths of faith in which believers must believe.
This is where the name of the Immaculate Conception comes from, for example, which comes from a name given by Pope Pius IX. signed bull that “declares Mary immune to the stain of original sin,” explained the researcher.
As is the idea of calling her Virgin Mary, since “the Lateran Council in 649 proclaimed the eternal virginity” of the Mother of Christ as truth.
“There are also names derived from the places where a demonstration took place, which led to a local devotion that often spread to other cities and places, such as: Aparecida, Guadalupe, Lourdes, Fátima, Loreto, Montserrat, etc.”he added.
“The Virgin Mary is given different names because they are associated with the place where she appeared,” said Mirticeli Medeiros, a Vatican expert and researcher on the history of Catholicism at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, Italy.
“There is nothing that dictates that it must necessarily be ‘baptized’ with the name of the area in which the vision occurred, but since the apparitions were original a manifestation of popular piety“Even before the usual canonical analysis, it is the people who ultimately distribute these titles,” Medeiros explained.
“All titles have their right to exist,” added researcher José Luis Lira, founder of the Brazilian Academy of Hagiology and professor at the Vale do Aracaú State University in Ceará.
“She is Our Lady of Fatima because she appeared there. She is Our Lady of Good Birth because she spiritually supports women in childbirth. She is Our Lady of Good Counsel because she can always give guidance to her children,” Lira said.
“And all of these titles belong to a mother because She is the mother of all humanity and in all placesPeople invoke them and represent them according to their customs and traditions. Of course, the approval of the church is necessary for public worship,” he explained.
Veneration of the Virgin Mary dates back to the beginnings of Christianity and is based on the basic idea that she acts as a direct channel to Christ, based on the premise that no one refuses a mother’s request.
An important passage from the Gospel itself underscores this idea. This is the story of the miracle of the wedding at Cana, which occurs exclusively in the text of John. in which Jesus performs his first miracle.
At the wedding banquet she attended with her mother, the hosts discovered they had run out of drinks. Mary called Jesus aside and explained to him what had happened. He then turned the water into wine, allowing the celebration to continue.
“It would be a scandal for the couple if they ran out of drinks before the end of the party. When Mary asks Jesus to intervene, “Your role as an advocate becomes important.”explained Father Arnaldo Rodrigues.
Marian veneration is also based on another passage of biblical texts.
According to the Gospels, while Jesus was dying on the cross, he entrusted the care of his mother to the apostle John and vice versa.
“In this action, Juan represents all of humanity. Mary became our mother. The new Eve, an Eve free from sin, as the Church teaches us. This is how the Blessed Virgin Mary cares for humanity as a mother and as a jealous mother,” Lira noted.
According to studies by Father Valdivino Guimarães, a Mariologist and former rector of the Church of the National Shrine of Aparecida in Brazil, the oldest records of this belief in the power of the Mother of Christ date back to the 2nd century.
“Archaeological evidence shows the veneration of the first Christians. In the catacombs of Priscilla you can see paintings of the Virgin Mary from the 2nd century, a place where the first Christians met,” he explained.
“In the catacombs we find the fresco that is considered to be the oldest image of the Virgin Mary with the baby Jesus,” commented De Tommaso.
However, the first of the appearances It dates back to the year 40 and in reality it would be a bilocation episodesince Maria was still alive at that time.
According to Christian tradition, the Virgin appeared to the apostle Santiago in what is now the city of Zaragoza, Spain, where he was preaching. In fact, there are records of a small chapel being built there since the early days of Christianity.
“The title chosen (for this apparition) was Our Lady of the Pillar because, according to history, Mary showed the apostle a pillar and asked him to build a sanctuary on that site,” Medeiros explained.
Another story often cited by researchers is that of the apparition of Our Lady of the Snows, which took place in Rome in August 352. As a result of this episode, the Basilica of Santa María la Mayor was built.
Mary has been venerated since the beginning of Christianity. In numerous writings and even in primitive iconography occupies a prominent place.
The oldest known Marian antiphon dates from the 2nd century and has the title in Latin: Sub tuum Presidium (Under your protection).
The Council of Ephesus in 431 analyzed and confirmed, among other later attributions, the theological thesis that Mary was also the Mother of God, Medeiros noted.
However, over the centuries these stories became more and more common. According to Rodrigues, it is estimated that today there are around 1,100 names by which the saint is known.
“From a historical perspective, the phenomena occur at very specific time periods,” Medeiros said.
“It is not for us historians to judge whether they are true or not, but the truth is that many of them occur in a particular political and social context.
“This is the case of Fátima, whose message is very interesting and consistent with the position that the Church would take towards communism years later,” explained the researcher.
“We have, for example, the case of Aparecida, whose image was found in the middle of the debate about the abolition of slavery. We have the case of Guadalupe, where the Virgin Mary is seen with indigenous featuresis a symbol of the fight against inequality. And so on,” he added.
But the Church does not always approve of these manifestations.
“Not all apparitions that occur today have been officially recognized by Catholicism. There is a protocol that must be followed. Not to mention that some are fully recognized and others, which are still being analyzed, have merely achieved religious freedom,” he recalled.
“What the alleged Virgin Mary says in this case must be completely in accordance with the principles of the Catholic Church “The moral and psychological suitability of clairvoyants is even analyzed.”he explained.
Over the centuries, devotion to the Virgin has played an exaggerated role, sometimes overshadowing the Holy Trinity (God, Father and Holy Spirit). And that’s why the Vatican recently took action.
At the beginning of November, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith published a document was signed by Pope Leo and defines the role of the mother of Jesus within the Catholic faith.
The text rejects the use of the title “Co-Redemptrix” for Mary, considering this an abuse. and prudence is advocated by calling her a “mediator.”
According to the document, these corrections are necessary to “avoid the danger of viewing divine grace as if Mary were becoming a distributor of spiritual goods or energies separate from our personal relationship with Jesus Christ.”
Experts claim that the Vatican resolution is intended to make this clear Mary is not on the same level as Christ.
“This means that Mary does not bestow graces without the knowledge of Jesus. The theology expressed in the Hail Mary prayer affirms that Mary can intercede for us but cannot save us,” he explained BBC Brazil the anthropologist Lidice Meyer, author of the book Christianity in the feminine.
*This text is a version of two reports published by Edison Veiga on BBC News Brazil. Click here (1 And 2) to find the original texts published in Portuguese.
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