Mater Populi Fidelis

Description While emphasising that Marian devotion is "a treasure of the Church", the Vatican's Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith considers certain Marian titles related to Mary's cooperation in the work of salvation. Addressing certain titles which have caused serious confusion, it encourages Catholics to come to Mary as "Mother of the Faithful People of God".   "Mary is the Mother who gave the world the Author of Redemption and of Grace, who stood firm at the foot of the cross (cf. Jn 19:25), suffering alongside her Son and offering the pain of her maternal heart pierced by the sword (cf. Lk 2:35). 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. All of this is not on account of her own merits but because Christ’s merits on the Cross were applied to her fully – in a particular and anticipatory way – for the glory of the one Lord and Saviour. She is, in the end, a hymn to the efficacy of God’s grace." (MPF §32-33)