History of Mariology at the Second Vatican Council

Abstract

This article examines the work of the Second Vatican Council with regard to the discussion and reception of mariological questions. Prior to the opening of the Council, some of the episcopate called for no Mariological issues at all, others expected a new Mariological dogma, and still others called for a conciliar definition concerning the intermediary role of the Mother of God in salvation. The study presents proponents of opposing views on the adoption of definitions on the Mother of God (as a separate independent document or as part of the doctrine of the Church).
After controversy and several votes, the doctrinal statement on the Church was finally solemnly proclaimed on November 21, 1964 (Lumen Gentium, Latin for Light to the Nations), chapter eight of which sets out the council's teaching on Mary. In this chapter, the Council reaffirmed the earlier Mariological dogmas (about the Immaculate Conception and the bodily ascension of the Virgin Mary) and recognized the Mother of Jesus Christ as the image and origin of the Church.
Nowadays, the council resolution "Light to the Nations" has become a full-fledged document of the Catholic Church. It is the official expression of the Catholic faith represented by its bishops, theologians and ordinary faithful. The Second Vatican Council can be said to have led to a shift in Mariological studies from its originally separate position in theology to a tighter connection with Christ and the Church.