Catholic Mariology is the systematic study of the person of Mary, the mother of Jesus, and of her place in the Economy of Salvation in Catholic theology. According to the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, as taught by the Catholic Church, Mary was conceived and born without original sin. Hence, she is regarded as possessing a singular dignity above the saints, receiving greater veneration than all angelic spirits and blessed souls in heaven. Catholic Mariology thus studies not only the life of the Virgin Mary but also the veneration of the Virgin Mary in daily life, in prayer, in hymns, in art, in music, and in architecture across modern and ancient Christianity.
The four Marian dogmas of the Mother of God, the Immaculate Conception, perpetual virginity, and the Assumption form the basis of Mariology. However, several other Catholic doctrines concerning the Virgin Mary have been developed through sacred scripture, theological reasoning, and church tradition. The development of Mariology is ongoing, and since its beginnings, it has continued to be shaped by theological analyses, writings of saints, and papal statements, e.g. while two of the dogmas are ancient, the other two were defined in the 19th and 20th centuries, and papal teachings on Mary have continued to appear in recent times.
In parallel with traditional views, since the late 19th century, as Marian devotion within the Catholic Church has become more pronounced, several other perspectives have been presented as challenges to Catholic Mariology. Other Christian views see Catholic Mariology as unbiblical and a denial of the uniqueness of Christ as redeemer and mediator, and modern psychological interpretations see Mary as similar to mythical goddesses ranging from Diana to Guan Yin. Nonetheless, Christians in the Catholic Church, the Old Catholic Churches, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Oriental Orthodox Church, the Assyrian Church of the East, the Ancient Church of the East, the Independent Sacramental Movement, Anglo-Catholicism, and other High church Protestants continue to revere Mary as the greatest saint.
Brother Eric is consecrated to Mary and is a member of these Confraternities:
Revd. Eric Michel’s Kindle Books on Consecration to Mary
Other Marianists
Montfort Brothers of St. Gabriel
The Montfort Brothers of St. Gabriel (SG), also known as the Gabrielite Brothers or Frères de Saint-Gabriel (FSG), are a religious institute. Its roots trace to Louis de Montfort, who established a few schools for poor children in La Rochelle, France, around 1711.
Company of Mary
The Missionaries of the Company of Mary is a missionary religious congregation within the Catholic Church. Saint Louis de Montfort founded the community in 1705 by recruiting his first missionary disciple, Mathurin Rangeard. The congregation comprises priests and brothers who serve in their native lands and in other countries. The Montfortian Family comprises the Company of Mary, the Daughters of Wisdom, and the Brothers of Saint Gabriel.
Daughters of Wisdom
The Daughters of Wisdom is a Catholic religious institute for women, founded by Louis de Montfort and Marie Louise Trichet in 1703, to serve the needy.
Marie Louise Trichet, also known as Marie-Louise de Jésus (1684–1759), was a French Catholic figure who, with Louis de Montfort, founded the Congregation of religious women known as the Daughters of Wisdom and, since the age of seventeen, devoted her life to caring for the poor and the sick. She is also referred to as the First Daughter of Wisdom. Pope John Paul II beatified her.