Matri Ecclesia

The Second Vatican Council was solemnly brought to a close on 8 December 1965. On the same day Fr Kentenich symbolically laid the foundation stone for the future shrine and centre at Belmonte, Rome. He named the shrine: Matri Ecclesiae

In his address in the afternoon of 8 December 1965 our founder referred to the dedication of the foundation stone which Pope Paul VI had blessed in St Peter’s Square for a large church to be dedicated to Mary in thanksgiving for the Council. The foundation stone bears the inscription MATRI ECCLESIAE, calling Mary the Mother of the Church and patron saint of the planned church. Our founder took up this name and gave it to the future shrine in Rome. The title can be interpreted in two ways and was deliberately chosen and repeatedly interpreted as time went by.

To start with, "Mater Ecclesiae" is the title Pope Paul VI solemnly gave to the Blessed Mother at the close of the third session of the Council. There had been considerable debate and tension over whether the Council should integrate its pronouncements on the Blessed Mother into the document on the Church, or place them into a separate document. In this sense the title MATRI ECCLESIAE expresses the dedication of the Church of the future. It was to be consecrated to Mary, the Mother of the Church. A second interpretation takes the grammatical form of the title to indicate that the "Mother Church" is meant, and hence the motherly features of the Church, which the Church Fathers had already connected with the motherly features of Mary, and can be seen together.

Dr Peter Wolf

Cardenal Jorge Mario Bergoglio (Pope Francis) in Buenos Aires

Mary,

the most beautiful and most tender face of the Church

In her motherhood, the Church has the Virgin Mary as a model, the most beautiful and most lofty model that there could be.

The motherhood of the Church is established in precise continuity with that of Mary, as her continuation in history.

The motherhood of Mary is surely unique, singular, and was brought about in the fullness of time, when the Virgin gave birth to the Son of God, conceived through the power of the Holy Spirit.

The Church, in the fruitfulness of the Spirit, continues to generate new children in Christ, always listening to the Word of God and in docility to his plan of love.

The Church is mother. The conception of Jesus in Mary’s womb, in fact, is the prelude to the birth of every Christian in the womb of the Church. From the moment that Christ is the firstborn among many brethren (cf. Rom 8:29) and our first brother Jesus was born of Mary. He is the model, and we are all born of the Church.

We understand, then, how the relationship which unites Mary and the Church is so deep.

By looking at Mary,

we discover the most beautiful and most tender face of the Church;

and by looking at the Church,

we recognize the sublime features of Mary.

We Christians are not orphans,

we have a mama, we have a mother,

and this is great! We are not orphans!

The Church is mother, Mary is mother.

In this service of evangelization, the Church, committed as a mother, manifests her motherhood in a special way, to offer her children the spiritual nourishment which nurtures and makes the Christian life bear fruit.

We are all called to receive with an open mind and heart the Word of God which the Church imparts every day, because this Word has the capacity to change us from within.

It is actually Mother Church who, with the Word of God, changes us from within.

Pope Francis, General Audience, 3 September 2014 (vatican.va)

The title: Matri Ecclesiae

Matri Ecclesia