The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith will issue a new doctrinal note, Mater Populi Fidelis (“Mother of the Faithful People”), today. However, major portions have already appeared online through Italian Catholic sites such as MessaInLatino.it and Non Silere Possum.
The draft document addresses several Marian titles attributed to the Blessed Virgin Mary, but its central focus concerns the title “Co-Redemptrix.” The note firmly rejects the use of the term. Section 22 states in full: “Given the need to explain Mary’s subordinate role to Christ in the work of Redemption, it is always inappropriate to use the title ‘Co-Redemptrix’ to describe Mary’s role. This title risks obscuring the unique salvific mediation of Christ and can therefore generate confusion and imbalance in the harmony of the truths of the Christian faith. … When an expression requires numerous and continuous explanations to prevent it from straying from its correct meaning, it does not serve the faith of the People of God and becomes inappropriate.”
Beyond its rejection of the title Co-Redemptrix, the document also devotes attention to other Marian titles historically used to express the Blessed Virgin’s participation in salvation. It examines the origins and theological development of designations such as Mediatrix, Advocate and Mother of the Redeemer, reaffirming that all such expressions must remain clearly subordinate to the unique mediation of Christ.
The Dicastery explains that Mary’s maternal cooperation is “singular and pre-eminent,” yet distinct from the redemptive act accomplished by her Son alone. Her role, the note says, is to “lead the faithful to Christ” rather than to “share directly in His saving action.”
Another section recalls how theological investigation into Mary’s cooperation deepened in the first half of the twentieth century. It notes that some popes and theologians used the title Co-Redemptrix in differing senses — some to stress her presence at the foot of the Cross, others to acknowledge her consent at the Annunciation. The text outlines three main theological interpretations: one seeing Mary’s cooperation as immediate and direct; another as indirect, limited to her “yes” to the Incarnation; and a third as receptive, in which she represents the Church accepting the fruits of Redemption. The Dicastery concludes that such diversity of views has often blurred the theological boundaries between the Redeemer and the redeemed.
The fact that the document has been leaked ahead of its official release highlights the sensitivity of this doctrinal clarification. Historically, the title “Co-Redemptrix” has been part of Catholic theological discourse since at least the fifteenth century, evolving from the earlier invocation “Redemptrix,” found as far back as the tenth century. In the twentieth century several movements pressed for a formal dogmatic definition of Mary as Co-Redemptrix, though in many cases popes withheld such a declaration.
In recent papal teaching, the issue has been handled with caution. Pope John Paul II used the term “Co-Redemptrix” repeatedly — at least six times in the 1990s — raising hopes among some, but Pope Benedict XVI (then Cardinal Ratzinger) warned that the term was “too far from Scripture” and risked obscuring Christ’s unique role as sole Redeemer. Pope Francis has likewise emphasised that “Christ is the only Redeemer” and that Mary is entrusted to the Church “as a mother, not as … co-redeemer.”
The leaked documents now show that Pope Leo XIV shares this theological stance, preferring that the term not be used in formal teaching or devotion, and addressing directly one of the most sensitive questions in modern Marian theology.
Photo: Pope Leo XIV offers a flower to Our Lady of Fatima as he celebrates the Prayer Vigil and Rosary for Peace as part of the Jubilee of Marian Spirituality in St. Peter's Square, Vatican, 11 October 2025 (Photo by ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Images)
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