Marian Dogmas

The Catholic Church believes four things about the Blessed Virgin Mary. They are known as the
Four Great Marian Dogmas. They are:

1. Her Immaculate Conception

2. Her perpetual virginity
3. Her Divine maternity
4. Her Assumption

1. The Immaculate Conception. Joachim and Ann were an elderly couple with a home in
Nazareth. But in their old age, God granted their prayers for a child. But unknown to them, and
through no merit of their own, God preserved the child (Mary) from Original Sin. Original Sin is a
human defect not intended by God, but incurred due to introduction of sin into the lives of
humanity. Mary was not preserved from Original Sin for her own glory, but to be a perfect living
temple for the coming of Jesus Christ. Since Joachim and Ann were elderly, they entrusted Mary to
the Temple priests, where she was consecrated as a Temple Virgin. She remained in the Temple until
she reached puberty, then she returned to Nazareth.

2. Perpetual Virginity. The Gospels relay that Mary was a virgin when the Archangel Gabriel
visited her to announce the conception and birth of Jesus. The Church has always held that Mary
remained a virgin before, during and after the birth of Jesus. The Church also holds that Jesus was
the only child of Mary. Finally, the Church holds that Joseph and Mary observed a celibate-chaste
love throughout her marriage. The Gospels are not in opposition to this belief and when they refer
to the “brothers of Jesus,” it should be noted that two possibilities exist. One is that Joseph had
been a widower and he brought children from a previous spouse to the marriage to Mary. The other
option is that the use of the word “brother” is used because the word “cousin” does not exist in
Arameic. The belief that Mary remained a virgin indicates that she considered the Holy Spirit her
true spouse. Some traditions indicate Joseph was older and “married” Mary, respecting that she had
been consecrated to virginity as a child in the temple.

3. Divine Maternity. This dogma refers to the belief of the indivisibility of Jesus’ divinity and
humanity. Mary cannot be the mother of the human part of Jesus without being mother to his
divinity, too. Again, like the Immaculate Conception, Mary is not meant to be glorified by the title,
but this title expresses the foundational belief that the humanity of Jesus and the Divinity of Jesus
constitute one existence and one person.

4. The Assumption. At the end of Mary’s earthly life, tradition holds she returned with St. John
from Ephesus where he presided over the Christians in Ephesus to Jerusalem. She stayed in a
Christian compound that was part of the family home of St. Mark, where Jesus celebrated the Last
Supper. The Apostles gathered around Mary and they were at prayer when Mary closed her eyes one
last time trusting in God. The Risen Christ, Himself, appeared with St. Michael and Jesus received
the soul of the Blessed Mother. The Apostles prepared the body of Mary for burial in the Garden of
Gethsemane. After three days, Mary’s body was resurrected by Christ and both body and soul were
assumed to heaven where Mary was crowned Queen of Heaven and Earth. This tradition
demonstrates that, preserved from Original Sin, Mary’s body was spared from decay and it venerates
the Blessed Mother for her fidelity by showing us the promise of the Resurrection for believers.