«One Redeemer, One Grace»: The Vatican Puts the Brakes on the Most Controversial Marian Titles

Vatican City – Tomorrow, November 4, 2025, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith will publish a document that Silere non possum offers today in exclusive preview to its readers. With the release of this Doctrinal Note, Mater Populi fidelis, the former Holy Office provides an extensive and structured reflection on several titles attributed to the Virgin Mary throughout history and their theological and pastoral implications.

Approved by Pope Leo XIV and signed by Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, the text comes after decades of requests and proposals addressed to the Holy See by theologians, movements, and the faithful regarding the possibility of recognizing new Marian dogmas or titles.

As stated in the introduction, the Note responds to “numerous questions and proposals submitted to the Holy See in recent decades, particularly concerning certain Marian titles,” and aims to clarify in what sense they are acceptable or not, specifying “the place of Mary in her relationship with the faithful, in the light of the mystery of Christ as the sole Mediator and Redeemer.” The document stems from both theological and pastoral concern: maintaining the necessary balance between the uniqueness of Christ’s mediation and Mary’s cooperation in the work of salvation, safeguarding both the faith of the Christian people and ecumenical sensitivity.

Origin and Purpose of the Note

Mater Populi fidelis is the fruit of over thirty years of study and internal discussion within the Dicastery—conferences and sessions that produced an “abundant and rich material,” now systematized in this synthesis. As Cardinal Fernández explains, the aim is not to “correct” the piety of the People of God, but to value and purify it, recognizing its beauty and mystagogical depth. However, alongside genuine popular devotion, there exist currents, publications, and movements that “propose new dogmatic developments” and, through the media, risk confusing the simpler faithful.

Hence the document intervenes to indicate which titles correspond to Gospel-inspired devotion, and which, on the contrary, “must be avoided, because they do not foster a proper understanding of the harmony of the Christian message as a whole.”