Holy See will clarify titles attributed to Mary on November 4

This text was first announced last July by Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the dicastery. It aims to clarify Marian devotions in the context of the new Vatican norms on the evaluation of supernatural phenomena in the Catholic Church.

The new document, entitled “Mater Populi Fidelis” (Mother of the Faithful People), will be presented next Tuesday by Cardinal Fernández, Monsignor Armando Matteo, secretary of the doctrinal section of the DDF, and Maurizio Gronchi, professor at the Pontifical Urbaniana University and consultant to the DDF.

In July, the prefect revealed that this document — begun during the pontificate of Francis — would address “various Marian themes.” It follows the new method of investigating mystical phenomena — apparitions, revelations, etc. — in effect since May 2024.

In practice, these standards have established a scale of six “levels” of assessment allowing the Holy See to declare that a fact is not supernatural — but never the opposite — or to grant a nihil obstat (“nothing stands in the way”).

However, this recognition “doesn’t mean that everything that is said [about this phenomenon] is without risk,” Cardinal Fernández explained to the press. “When we look at all these phenomena as a whole, [we see] recurring problems,” he added, explaining that the note would bring “balance” to these issues.

The document should thus clarify certain titles attributed to the Virgin Mary in popular devotions, such as the controversial term “co-redemptrix.” In July 2024, in particular, the DDF authorized the promotion of the Italian Marian apparitions known as “the Mystical Rose of Fontanelle” while warning against “expressions that are not always appropriate.”

In this sense, Rome warned against terms that could suggest that the Virgin Mary is a “lightning rod mediator” who protects humanity from the wrath of an unmerciful God, or that she is a redeemer — whereas “Jesus Christ is our only Redeemer.”