Bogoslovska smotra, Vol. 96 No. 2, 2026.
Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.53745/bs.96.2.5
Mary as a »Sign of Sure Hope and Solace« (LG 68): Marian Elements for a Synodal Church
Branko Murić
; University of Zagreb, Catholic Faculty of Theology, Zagreb, Croatia
Ivan Karlić
; University of Zagreb, Catholic Faculty of Theology, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
Following the prompts and demands arising from previous synodal processes, which are crystallised in the published ecclesial (and synodal) documents, the authors focus on illuminating the Marian elements to building a synodal Church. In the first part of the paper, the foundations of what could be called Mary’s School of Synodality are established, with reference to four numbers of the Final Document of the Synod on Synodality (2024) that explicitly refer to the role of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Church. On this basis, the second and most extensive part of the paper analyses, in four steps and in line with New Testament texts, the characteristics of Mary’s faith that the authors consider conducive to a better understanding of a synodal style in the Church. Relying on the narratives from Luke’s Gospel about Jesus’ childhood, the paper firstly examines Mary’s attitude of active listening and openness to accepting the Word and God’s will, which is subsequently demonstrated by the example of adopting a synodal style of listening and dialogue in the Church. Turning to Johannine theology, the portrayal of Mary as the »woman« in the pericope from the wedding at Cana, and her presence at the foot of the Cross, reveals her persistent »walking together« with Jesus, from the first sign to the hour of the Passion, which begets a new communion and a maternal mission. The analysis concludes with a reflection on Mary’s walk in communion with Jesus’s disciples, the nascent Church, and the People of God, integrating the theme of »active listening« with synodal processes and the implementation of the principles of Synodality within contemporary ecclesiology.
Keywords
Blessed Virgin Mary; Mary; Mother of God; Hodegetria; mariology; synodality; Marian approach to synodality; Church; synodal theology; synodal Church; active listening; school of synodality
Hrčak ID:
350568
URI
Publication date:
7.9.2026.
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