Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Rome (Agenzia Fides) - "Mary between theologies and cultures today" is the theme of the International Mariological Marian Congress, which will take place online, starting from today September 8th to 11th, 2021. Now in its 25th edition, this year's appointment celebrates the commitment of the Pontifical Academia Mariana Internationalis (PAMI) in promoting, through the works of the greatest scholars of Mariology from all over the world, the triple path of renewal, recovery and inculturation of the figure of Mary in the Church, both at the level of theological research and at the level of liturgical worship.
Divided into plenary sessions and seven linguistic groups, about 300 representatives of Mariological societies and enrolled scholars from the five continents will take part.
In the note sent to Fides, Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture who will open the works in the name of the Holy Father, explains that the first day will be reserved for careful reflection on the cultural interactions that have been possible thanks to the precedent editions of the Congress. The following three days will see the participation of experts who will examine the Marian figure in relation to the Spanish-speaking, English-speaking, French-speaking, German-speaking, Lusitan-speaking and Slavic cultures, with special attention to their specific declination in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. "The appointment constitutes an important moment of coordination of Marian theology entrusted to the Academy", reports the Cardinal, citing the message that Pope Francis addressed to the Congress. "The Pontiff underlines the importance of the inculturation of the faith that manifests itself in popular piety, insisting that Mary is the 'Mother of all, regardless of ethnicity or nationality and therefore 'a point of reference for a culture capable of overcoming barriers that create division'. The Congress will end with an assembly of participants, led by the President of PAMI, Fr. Stefano Cecchin, O.F.M., who will examine the prospects for a new Mariology.
For Father Stefano Cecchin, President of the Pontifical Academia Mariana Internationalis, it is "an important opportunity to reflect on the path of Marian theology also in the light of the dialogue that challenges us between faith and cultures".
"During the Congress we will try to answer the question: why has Mary of Nazareth, the mother of Jesus, become an anthropological 'paradigm' of 'mother par excellence', 'the most powerful and popular cultural symbol of the last two thousand years', 'the most powerful woman in the world' (2015, National Geographic), who marks the life of many peoples and who is fundamental for 'Christian thinking' (Saint John Paul II), today is proposed as the very symbol of the Common Home and model for a new transdisciplinary anthropology?", said the President of PAMI. (Agenzia Fides, 8/9/2021)
