The Mother of All Peoples

This papal instruction of Leo XIII not only articulated the truth that all graces of God come to us through Mary, but also that this belief has been the universal belief of the Church from the apostolic days to our present day. This reality, he said, can only be explained through God's revelation in "divine faith."

• Pope St. Pius X (1903-1914) continued the papal consistency by calling Mary "the dispenser of all gifts," and he discusses theologically how Jesus is the source of all graces, and Mary is the channel of all graces:

• Pope Benedict XV (1914-1922) strongly encouraged the spread of the liturgical celebration of the Mediatrix of all graces doctrine by granting the special liturgical feast of "Mediatrix of all graces" to any bishop who desired to celebrate it in his diocese. (45) Benedict XV also continued the unbroken papal consensus on the Marian doctrine in various papal statements. In one statement, after affirming that Mary redeemed the world together with Christ, he immediately added: "It is for this reason that all the graces contained in the treasury of the Redemption are given to us through the hands of the same sorrowful Virgin." (46)

During part of the canonization process of St. Joan of Arc in 1926 (referring to a miracle through the intercession of Joan of Arc that took place at Lourdes), Benedict XV explained that the favors received through the intercession of the saints also come through the mediation of Mary:

• Pope Pius XI (1922-1939) several times continued the papal uniformity by making such statements about Mary as: "We have nothing more at heart than to promote more and more the piety of the Christian people toward the Virgin treasurer of all graces at the side of God" (48) and also: "Confiding in her intercession with Jesus, the one Mediator of God and man (1 Tim 2:5), who wished to associate his own Mother with himself as the advocate of sinners, as the dispenser and mediatrix of graces…" (49)

• Pope Pius XII (1939-1958), continued the papal unanimity: "So great was his (St. Bernard's) confidence in her most powerful intercession, that he did not hesitate to write: 'It is the will of God that we should have nothing which has not passed through the hands of Mary'" (50) and also: "She teaches us all virtues; she gives us her Son and with him all the help we need, for 'God wished us to have everything through Mary.'" (51)

• The Second Vatican Council, once again, (under the pontificates of Bl. John XXIII and Paul VI) referred to the Mother of God's authentic title as "Mediatrix" and her role as intercessor of the graces for eternal salvation: "Taken up to heaven she did not lay aside this saving office but by her manifold intercession continues to bring us the gifts of eternal salvation.... Therefore the Blessed Virgin is invoked in the Church under the title...Mediatrix." (52)

Pope John Paul II has referred to Our Lady as the "Mediatrix of all graces" on at least six different occasions during his pontificate, (53) for example, on the occasion of a visit to the shrine dedicated to Our Lady in Benevento, Italy, on July 2, 1990, he made this reflection:

Pope John Paul II used the title, "Mediatrix of Mercy" in reference to the Blessed Virgin at the second coming of her Son:

What is the importance of this survey of two centuries of papal statements on the doctrine of Mediatrix of all graces? It is precisely the conformity and the unanimity of the popes of over the last two hundred years that brings clarity of this role as an official doctrine of the Catholic Church. The pontiffs of the last two centuries, both in the official Church documents and in papal addresses, have assertively taught this Marian truth with a continuity and specificity that, as Pope Leo XIII said referring to its universal acceptance since apostolic times, seems to be explainable by "no other reason...than divine faith."

Theological Conclusions on Mediatrix

Although this Marian doctrine of Mary as Mediatrix of all graces is not yet formally defined, its unquestionable presence in the papal teachings of the ordinary Magisterium bear several significant theological conclusions as have been previously formulated by some of the twentieth century's most respected Mariologists. (56)

First, the doctrine of Mary as Mediatrix of all graces, along with its prior foundational and sustaining role of Co-redemptrix, should be received by the Christian faithful with a "loyal submission of the will and intellect," which "must be given, in a special way, to the authentic teaching authority of the Roman Pontiff, even when he does not speak ex cathedra" (Lumen Gentium, No. 25). By its consistent place in the teachings of the ordinary Magisterium, the Marian doctrines of Co-redemptrix and Mediatrix of all graces call believers to a religious assent of mind and heart to the manifest mind of the popes.

Secondly, in light of the fact that the doctrine of Mary as Mediatrix of all graces has been universally taught in the Church by popes of the last two hundred years and by the bishops in union with them (the ordinary Magisterium), and in virtue of this universal teaching of the Church, it has been the opinion of certain modern Mariologists that the doctrine of Mediatrix of all graces already possesses the nature of a defined doctrine of faith (theologically, this can be referred to as de fide divina ex ordinario magisterio). (57) In short, the Marian roles of Co-redemptrix and Mediatrix of all graces represent essential Catholic teaching through the order of the ordinary Magisterium. This charism of the universal teaching authority of all bishops who, when in union with the pope, can exercise the ecclesial element of infallibility, is discussed in Vatican II's Constitution on the Church (Lumen Gentium, No. 25).

Models of Mary as Mediatrix

There are also several different, though complementary, models and concepts of Mary as Mediatrix of all graces.

St. Maximilian Kolbe saw Mary's profoundly intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit, her Divine Spouse, as central to her role as Mediatrix. When the Holy Spirit, the "Uncreated Immaculate Conception of God," as Kolbe refers to him, works to sanctify the world, he does so in profound union with and through Mary, the human and created Immaculate Conception. God's grace, therefore, flows from the Father, through the Son in the Holy Spirit and through the intercession of Mary. (58)

In terms of a more ecclesial (or church) model, St. Ambrose and Vatican II stressed the Blessed Virgin's image as "Model of the Church." (59) One could say that since all the graces of Redemption are obtained and distributed through the Church, and Mary is the perfect model of the Church, then Mary likewise would appropriately be Co-redemptrix and Mediatrix of graces par excellence as pre-eminent image of the Church.

Other prominent Mariologists (60) have proposed the position of Mary being called a secondary "instrumental" (or physical) cause in the distribution of graces. This position would hold that after Jesus, Mary not only willed the distribution of grace by her intercession, but also had a direct instrumental cause on the distribution of grace based on a true jurisdiction over graces granted her by God.

The expression "moral cause," refers to an influence of an agent over the free will of another, for example, Mary's intercessory prayer moves Jesus to grant the gift of grace. This is more of a condition than a direct cause in the strict sense, because it is Mary's willed intercession that indirectly leads to Jesus conferring grace, but Mary does not directly cause the release of grace. An instrumental (or physical) cause is one which has a real direct and immediate (proximate) influence on the effect. The word "physical" is not used in the sense of a material or corporeal effect, but rather as a direct and efficient cause on the effect in question. This leads us to the question, does Jesus grant every grace of the Redemption for the sake of Mary, in light of her intercessory prayers and her merits (moral cause); or is Mary a direct proximate cause of the distribution of the graces of Redemption, based on a certain jurisdiction of graces granted her by her divine Son?

Although the terms "moral" and "physical" instrumentality represent a neo-Thomistic terminology (a system derived from the works of St. Thomas Aquinas), the Franciscan-Scotus school also supports Mary's "immediate" mediation in the order of grace. The rich Scotistic school of Mariology also clearly teaches that Mary's mediation has an immediate impact on the souls of all to be saved, as a result of Mary being the "Mediatrix with the Mediator." Thus her mediation transcends that of all other saints.