The Blessed Virgin Mary, as pointed out by the Catechism of the Catholic Church in points 963, 964 and 965, she is Mother of Christ and Mother of the Church. Pope Francis, in 2018, fixed this memorial of the Virgin Mary in the next Monday to the solemnity of Pentecost.
This title is not new, he points out Vatican News. "Already in 1980, St. John Paul II invited us to venerate Mary as Mother of the Church. And even earlier, St. Paul VI, on November 21, 1964, at the conclusion of the Third Session of the Second Vatican Council, solemnly declared" the following.
"Thus, for the glory of the Virgin and our consolation, We proclaim Mary Most Holy Mother of the Church. That is to say, Mother of all the people of God, both of the faithful and of the pastors who call her loving Mother. And we desire that from now on she be honored and invoked by all the Christian people with this most pleasing title".
"Mother of all the People of God".
The Catechism of the Catholic Church contains a paragraph on this subject. Address of St. Paul VI. It states that the Virgin Mary "is recognized and venerated as the true Mother of God and of the Redeemer [...]. Moreover, 'she is truly the Mother of the members (of Christ) because she collaborated by her love in bringing about the birth in the Church of believers, members of that Head'" (LG53; cf. St. Augustine, De sancta virginitate 6, 6)"".
Along with these recent dates, the agency continues, "we cannot forget how much the title of Mary, Mother of the Church, is present in the sensibility of St. Augustine and St. Leo the Great; of Benedict XV and Leo XIII. As we have said, Pope Francis, on February 11, 2018, on the 160th anniversary of the first apparition of Our Lady at Lourdes, decided to make this Memory obligatory."
Mosaic of Mary, Mater Ecclesiae
On the other hand, one of the most recent architectural elements in St. Peter's Square is the mosaic dedicated to Mary Mater Ecclesiae, with the text Totus Tuus. It is a sign of St. John Paul II's affection for Our Lady. In an article published in 'L'Osservatore Romano', the architect Javier Cotelo told the story of that mosaic of the Virgin, which you can read here.
The mosaic, inspired by the '.Madonna della colonnawhich came from the Constantinian basilica, was placed on December 7, 1981, and the following day, after the Angelus prayer, it was placed in the basilica., St. John Paul II blessed it.
