Mary, Mother of the Church

Established in 2018 by Pope Francis to be celebrated on the Monday after Pentecost, this memorial honors Mary as the one who, having received the Holy Spirit with the apostles in the upper room, was present at the Church's birth. The title Mater Ecclesiae was given to her by Paul VI at the close of Vatican II.

The theological roots of the title run deep: the Fathers saw Mary at the foot of the cross as receiving from her dying Son a new motherhood over all his disciples. At Pentecost she was in their midst, praying as the Spirit descended, the same Spirit who had overshadowed her at Nazareth. The feast's placement on the day after Pentecost binds her presence to every new outpouring of grace in the life of the Church.