Pope: Virgin Mary is perfect model of what the Church is called to be

Vatican City, May 13, 2026: During his weekly General Audience on the feast of Our Lady of Fatima, Pope Leo XIV reflected on how the Blessed Virgin Mary is a model, member and mother of the Church, encouraging the faithful to love and serve the ecclesial community.

On May 13, the Pope said the Virgin Mary represents the origin, model and homeland of the people of God.

“The mystery of the Church is also reflected in the Virgin Mary: in Her, the people of God find the representation of their origin, their model and their homeland,” he said during his catechesis in St. Peter’s Square.

“In the Mother of the Lord, the Church contemplates her own mystery, not only because she finds in Her the model of virginal faith, maternal charity and the spousal covenant to which she is called, but also and above all because in Her she recognises her own archetype, the ideal figure of what she is called to be.”

The Pope continued his catechesis series on the documents of the Second Vatican Council, once again reflecting on the 1964 Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen gentium, whose final chapter is dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

Do I ask Mary for help?

Highlighting Mary as a model for the Church, Pope Leo XIV invited the faithful to seek her intercession and follow her example.

In this regard, he posed several questions for reflection:

“Do I live my participation of the Church with humble and active faith? Do I recognise in her the community of the covenant that God has given me to respond to His infinite love? Do I feel that I am a living part of the Church, in obedience to the pastors given by God? Do I look to Mary as a model, an outstanding member and Mother of the Church, and ask Her to help me be a faithful disciple of her Son?”

Model, member and mother of the Church

Referring to Lumen gentium, the Pope explained that the document calls the faithful to recognise Mary as “the model and the pre-eminent member and mother of the entire ecclesial community.”

Formed by God’s grace and by accepting Jesus through faith and “virginal love,” Mary is the “perfect model of what the Church is called to be: a creature of the Word of the Lord and mother of the children of God, begotten in docility to the action of the Holy Spirit,” he said.

The Pope further noted that Mary is “an excellent member of the ecclesial community” because she is the “believer par excellence” who remained fully open to the divine mystery.

He also underlined that she is “the mother of the whole Church” because she “brings forth children” in Christ, and that all the faithful can “turn to her with filial confidence, in the certainty of being heard, protected and loved.”

A woman icon of the Mystery

Pope Leo XIV explained that these three dimensions are brought together in the description of the Virgin Mary as “a woman who is the icon of the Mystery.”

He said the term “woman” points to the historical reality of the young daughter of Israel chosen to become the mother of Jesus.

The word “icon,” he added, reflects how “in Her, both God’s gratuitous election and Her free consent of faith in Him shine forth.”

“Mary is therefore the woman who is the icon of the Mystery, that is, of the divine plan of salvation, once hidden and now revealed in its fullness in Jesus Christ,” he said.

May the love for the Church grow in all of us

The Pope also said that the Council clearly explained the unique role of the Virgin Mary in the work of Redemption.

He reiterated that “the sole mediator of salvation is Jesus Christ” and noted that His mother “fosters the immediate union of the faithful” with Him, citing Lumen gentium.

Concluding the catechesis, Pope Leo XIV prayed that the Holy Spirit would grant all the grace to live fully within the Church.

“Having reflected deeply on the Constitution Lumen gentium, let us ask the Virgin to obtain this gift for us: that love for the Holy Mother Church may grow in all of us,” he concluded.

Courtesy: Vatican News