Pope Francis must be remembered for his deep Marian piety. In speaking to a group of young people in Rome on June 29, 2014 — the Solemnity of St. Peter and Paul — he famously said: “A Christian without the Madonna is an orphan.”
In his General Audience of Sept. 3, 2014, he emphasized again the importance of having Mary as our mother and the church as our mother: “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.”
Mary as the Mother of the Church was a theme dear to the heart of Pope Francis. In her recent book, “Mary & the Church at Vatican II” (2024), Dr. Laurie Olsen shows that some bishops at Vatican II wished to avoid the Marian title, Mater Ecclesiae (Mother of the Church). St. Paul VI, however, in his address of Nov. 21, 1964, formally proclaimed Mary Mother of the Church.
On Feb. 11, 2018, Pope Francis highlighted the importance of this title by establishing the Obligatory Memorial of Mary, Mother of the Church, for the Monday after Pentecost.
Pope Francis developed a profound devotion to Mary during his childhood in Argentina. On several occasions he mentioned the influence of his grandmother, Rosa, who pointed to Our Lady under the cross as a model for enduring sickness, pain and grief. Pope Francis also cultivated a devotion to Our Lady of Lujan, honored at the national Marian shrine of Argentina, which contains an almost 400-year-old statue associated with numerous miracles.
Later in his life, Pope Francis promoted devotion to Mary, the Undoer of Knots, inspired by a German painting of 1700 A.D. that has theological roots going back to St. Irenaeus (c. 135–202 A.D.).
Pope Francis manifested his Marian devotion in many other ways during his pontificate. On Oct. 7, 2019, he added the Feast of Our Lady of Loreto to the general Roman calendar as an optional memorial to be celebrated on Dec. 10. In 2020, he added three new titles to the Litany of Loreto: Mater Misericordiae (Mother of Mercy), Mater Spei (Mother of Hope) and Solacium Migrantium (Solace of Migrants).
Pope Francis had a special devotion to the Marian icon, Salus Populi Romani (Salvation or Health of the Roman People), which is located in the Roman Basilica of St. Mary Major. Even before becoming pope, he would often venerate the icon — believed by some to have been painted by St. Luke — during his visits to Rome.
As the Roman Pontiff, he prayed before the Salus Populi Romani icon over 100 times and before and after apostolic trips abroad. On March 27, 2020 — during the coronavirus pandemic — Pope Francis had the Salus Populi Romani icon brought to St. Peter’s Basilica for a special prayer service before an empty and rain-soaked St. Peter’s Square. In light of this devotion, it is not surprising that Pope Francis chose to become the eighth Roman Pontiff buried in the Basilica of St. Mary Major, the first since Clement IX, who was pope from 1667 to 1669.
Pope Francis’ Marian devotion was profound, heartfelt and authentically Catholic. He always promoted the recitation of the Rosary. On Sept. 29, 2018, he asked Catholics to recite the “Sub tuum praesidium” prayer along with the prayer to St. Michael the Archangel after every Rosary during the month of October to help protect the church against the devil.
Pope Francis was a strong believer in the power of Marian consecration. On March 25, 2022, after the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, he made a solemn act of consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary saying: “Therefore, Mother of God and our Mother, to your Immaculate Heart we solemnly entrust and consecrate ourselves, the Church and all humanity, especially Russia and Ukraine. Accept this act that we carry out with confidence and love.”
Although Pope Francis did not believe the church needed any new Marian dogmas, he embraced and promoted traditional Marian doctrines. In his Jan. 1, 2020 homily for the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, he highlighted Mary’s cooperation in the work of salvation. From Mary, he said, “salvation came forth and thus there is no salvation without the woman.”
Pope Francis also affirmed Mary as the Mediatrix between God and the human race. In his homily of Jan. 1, 2021, he referred to Mary as “the bridge joining us to God.” He also described her as “the road that God travelled in order to reach us, and the road that we must travel in order to reach him.”
In his May 13, 2023 message to Archbishop Gian Franco Saba of Sassari, Sardina, Italy, Pope Francis wrote that “one of the most ancient titles by which Christians have invoked the Virgin Mary is precisely ‘the Mediatrix of all graces.'” In his Aug. 5, 2024 homily at St. Mary Major’s Basilica — in celebration of the memorial of Our Lady of the Snows — Pope Francis stated that, “she [Mary] is the Mediatrix of the grace that flows always and only through Jesus Christ, by the action of the Holy Spirit.”
As we mourn the death of Pope Francis, let us give thanks for his great love and devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Following his example, we know we are not orphans, for we have the Virgin Mary as our mother and the Mother of the Church.
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