News Archives

We have received a number of emails from readers commending our institute and its website, The Mary Page.  Thank you all for your encouragement and support.  The following is a typical example.

Thank you.  I appreciate your time and help.

Jessica

Updates

Jill Slater, Librarian/Archivist for The Marian Library, has been selected for the State Library of Ohio Preservation Boot Camp this summer.  This is an IMLS-grant-funded program that covers a wide range of preservation issues in libraries, archives, and museums.  Colleen Hoelscher of Roesch Library was also selected.

 Return to Top

Mary in Books, Films, and Music

Essays on Mary and Ecumenism from the ESBVM

Mary for the Love and Glory of God edited by Dr. Maura Hearden and Dr. Virginia M. Kimball, a collection of ecumenical essays by scholars representing various Christian denominations that were presented at the International Congress of the Ecumenical Society of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Pittsburgh, PA, USA, in 2008, has been published in the United States by ESBVM (USA) through AuthorHouse.  The contributors to this book focus their attention on Mary, the Mother of Christ, the biblical disciple whose life brings us to the love and glory of God.  Contributing authors are Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestant, and include: Very Rev. John Behr, Dean of St. Vladimir's Seminary in New York; Dr. Robert L. Fastiggi, Professor of Sacred Theology at Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit; Sr. Nonna Verna Harrison, an Eastern Orthodox nun and specialist in Patristics and Orthodox Theology; Dr. Maura Hearden, a Roman Catholic scholar and professor at DeSales University in Pennsylvania; Rev. Jennifer Mary Kimball, pastor of the First Congregational Church UCC in Walton, NY; Dr. Virginia M. Kimball, an Eastern Orthodox theologian and president of the ESBVM (USA); Rev. Dr. Donald Charles Lacy, United Methodist Pastor and well-known ecumenical author and lecturer; Sr. Barbara Jean Mihalchick OSBM, a Byzantine Catholic sister and vocation director for the Sisters of the Order of St. Basil in Uniontown, Pennsylvania; Sr. Mary Catherine Nolan, a Roman Catholic Dominican sister and Marian theologian; Rev. Dr. Edward J. Ondrako, OFM Conv., scholar-in-residence at the Franciscan International Study Center in Canterbury, Kent, England; and Rev. Dr. Paul Snowden Russell III, an Anglican priest, noted Syriac scholar, and Dean of the St. Joseph of Arimathea Anglican Theological College, in Berkeley, CA.

Click here to see a review.

Suggested A/V material

Brother John Samaha informed us about a three-minute music video in which Mario Lanza sings Shubert's Ave Maria.  Click here to watch the video on YouTube.  Our thanks to Brother John for providing this information.

Return to Top

Radio Maria from The Marian Library

Prayer of Blessed John Paul II for Radio Maria

Mary, guide us in our major decisions and give us strength in times of trial so that we may, with humble courage, follow the hidden ways of Heaven, keeping faith with God and mankind so that we can bring the joyful message of Christ, the Savior, to the hearts and minds of all.

Mary, guiding star of evangelization, be with us.  Be with Radio Maria as guide and be its protector.

Francesca Franchina, MS Ed., a long-time member of the Marianist Family, will be doing a series of Marian broadcasts through the local stations for Radio Maria WHJM (FM 88.7) in Anna, Ohio and WULM (AM 1600) in Springfield, Ohio.  Called "Francesca and Friends: Why Mary?," the program airs every Wednesday from 12:00 - 1:00 PM EST focusing on what is going on in the world about Mary, how to speak with others about Mary, and Mary in Scripture.  CALL IN TOLL-FREE.  PARTICIPATE IN THE PROGRAM (during the live show) 1-866-333-6279.

On Wednesday, June 12, 2013, Francesca Franchina converses with Ohio Region Radio Maria Priest Director, Father John Fletcher, CC (Companions of the Cross) about his recent Marian pilgrimage to Medjugorge, and the conversions, healing and other evangelizing experiences pilgrims encounter during travel that is not just a trip, but a pilgrimage.  This program will encore on Monday, June 17, 2013 at 3:00 AM.  All programs are archived on our web site, radiomaria.us.

Francesca and Friends with Francesca Franchina, National OSIA Trustee, is now being broadcast throughout the New York City metropolitan area at 11 pm on Friday nights on WSNR 620 AM, as well as on other local  Radio Maria USA frequencies,  and streaming on radiomaria.us.  This is the replay of the program originating on the preceding Wednesday at noon EST.  Give a listen every Friday at 11 PM; Mondays at 8:30 PM and LIVE on Wednesdays at noon EST.

The broadcast may also be heard on-line at radiomaria.us  The website also provides access to some previous broadcasts.  We'll keep you informed about future programs.  An encore of each show is broadcast Monday night from 8:30-9:30 pm EST one week after the original.

Francesca is no longer doing her Tuesday program, Through the Tummy to the Heart on Radio Maria, but all programs and recipes are still posted in the Archives on the Radio Maria website at radiomaria.us.  She will inaugurate commentary and blog on www.credoapostolate.us in the near future.

Living with Mary Today! Live: Thursdays and Fridays 2:30-3:00 PM EST: From the Pontifical International Marian Research Institute (IMRI) at the University of Dayton Marian Library, internationally-known Mariologists Fathers Bertrand Buby, François Rossier, Johann Roten, and Thomas Thompson of the Society of Mary (Marianists), and other IMRI faculty; Michael Duricy, Sister Jean Frisk, and others will discuss Marian themes such as The Blessed Mother and Ecumenism; Mary and The Family; Mary and Suffering, Marian Teachings and Writings of Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI; Mary and Scripture from the Founder of the Marianists, Blessed William Joseph Chaminade; Mary and Vatican II, Marian Apparitions, and others.  The Marian Library at the University of Dayton houses the largest collection of Marian books and artifacts in the world, and IMRI is one of the two sites of post-graduate studies in Mariology for the STL and STD.  Find out more by visiting marypage.org.  The University of Dayton; The Marian Library, and IMRI are collaborators with the International Satellite Radio Maria Network and Radio Maria Ohio.  Click here for the schedule of future programs planned to date.  Click here for the audio archive!

This week's programs:

Dr. Gloria Falcão Dodd, Thursday, June 13, 2:30 PM on Mary, Saint Anthony's Mariology

Return to Top

From the Marian Treasure Chest

The Virgin Mary in Eastern Christian Tradition from Brother John Samaha, S.M.

Brother John sent us the following article, which was published in The Maronite Voice, May 2013, page 10.

The Christian traditions of the East and the West evolved in manifold and diverse ways.  Theology and worship developed in different modes according to the varying human cultures.  Where do we find the place of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, in the Eastern Christian tradition?

On the one hand we find a tremendous richness of Marian thought in the liturgies of the Eastern Church, but on the other hand, a virtual absence of specifically-Mariological studies in theology.  In the Christian East the understanding and appreciation of the Theotokos, the Virgin Mother of God, developed differently, and is not the product of scientific theological reasoning and reflection.  The Mariological experience and piety of the Eastern churches--those in union with Rome and those separated--seems to be embodied almost entirely in their liturgical and paraliturgical worship.  We find no prominent theological reflection on the subject, nothing that would parallel the specialized treatises of Western theological studies.  Eastern theology manuals contain no chapters dealing with the place of Mary in the economy of salvation.  The veneration of Mary, which is so central in Eastern prayer life, has not been extensively expressed, analyzed, or evaluated systematically.  Instead, Mary is highlighted in the liturgy and in prayer.

The scarcity of formal theological study about Mary may seem to some a deficiency in Eastern theology.  How can the Eastern Church, which never prays to God or Jesus Christ without at the same time addressing Mary, neglect theologizing about her?  Why has the Eastern theological mind neglected focus on this enormously-important aspect of its life and worship?

In the Eastern theological mind the seeming absence of formal study on this subject is seen as an integral part of the "mystery of Mary" in the experience of the Church.  Eastern scholars question whether theology as the rational investigation of the truths of faith is adequate to transpose into precise terms the real content of that mystery.  For them the proper locus of Mariology is in liturgy and in prayer.  This is reminiscent of Prosper of Aquitaine's maxim: Lex orandi, lex credendi.  We pray what we believe.

In the Eastern Christian traditions Mariology developed through liturgical veneration within the framework of the concomitant feasts; that is, it followed the development of Christology and the Church's contemplation of the Incarnation.  All Marian devotion--liturgical and popular--remained organically connected to the mystery of Christ.  This has always been their norm and criterion.

For the Eastern spiritual heritage the liturgy is the principal locus of Mariology.  The liturgical expression of piety is often adorned with allegory and symbolism.  This gives rise to questions about the biblical character and justification of these expressions or forms.  Where in the Bible do we find information about Mary's birth, presentation in the temple, dormition?  Yet these are celebrated as Marian festivals.  Whatever their poetic, liturgical, and hymnographic expressions, all these events are real because they are self-evident.  Mary was born, like every Jewish girl she was taken to the temple, she eventually died.  Simply because such information comes from the Apocrypha does not alter their reality.  The Church contemplates the ultimate reality of these events, not the poetic elaborations in the prayers and hymns.

While this tradition of the East differs from the theological elaboration of the West, it nonetheless belongs to the full catholicity and apostolicity of the Church.

Some in the West have speculated that the Nestorian controversy, which occurred in the Eastern world, may have contributed to the fuller liturgical celebration of the Theotokos in the East.  This development gave the East a more satisfying and habitual expression of devotion to Mary, and would support the notion that the proper locus of Mariology is primarily in liturgy.

The West, lacking such regular liturgical expression, sought other means of elaborating Marian devotion, such as defining privileges and giving impetus to various movements.

Both East and West exalt Mary’s role in Christianity, but from different intellectual and formative approaches.

Return to Top

Current Exhibits

Where Art Meets Religion

This exhibit, a retrospective of works by Ned Ostendorf, is being held in The Marian Library from May 13 - September 10, 2013.  Click here for details or here for a virtual exhibit.  You are also invited to a reception celebrating his life and art in the Roesch Library Gallery on Tuesday, June 18, 2013 at 7 pm.  Click here for details.

Le Point Vierge: Mary and the Catholic Imagination

This exhibit, a photographic documentary of Catholic imagination about Mary by Dorothy Tuma and Wendy Wright, will continue to be held in The Marian Library Gallery through July 26, 2013.  Click here for details or here for a virtual exhibit.

We have a permanent crèche exhibit and a dedicated online giving page specifically for those who wish to support The Marian Library crèche collections.  There is also a general page to give to all areas of ML/IMRI and Roesch Library.

Return to Top

Web Collaborators

Two important Catholic websites have added The Mary Page to their list of Media Partners.  CatholicWeb.com highlights items from The Mary Page in their section on Catholic News.  Catholic.net includes a Mariology section on their navbar with articles from The Mary Page.  Please visit these sites in return.  We expect continued collaboration with them in the future.

Radio Maria originated east of Milan, Italy in 1983, and is now heard in fifty-four countries.  The main USA station is in Alexandria, Louisiana with affiliate stations across the USA [including FM 88.7, WHJM,  in Anna, Ohio (north of Dayton) and AM 1600, WULM, in Springfield/Dayton, Ohio.  All USA Radio Maria stations regularly air live Marian talks from UD's Marian Library every Wednesday from 12:00-1:00 pm EST and on Thursday and Friday from 2:30-3:00 pm EST, as well as local programming originating from many other affiliated Radio Maria stations in the USA.

Return to Top

International Marian Research Institute Course Schedule

IMRI courses for the summer 2013 semester commenced on June 10, 2013!

The Pontifical Academic Program leading to STL and STD in theology with a specialization in Marian Studies offers courses in three year-round sessions.  See our course offerings for summer 2013.

Return to Top

In keeping with the season, we suggest Marian Poems for Ordinary Time and Masses of Our Lady During Ordinary Time.

Material on international stamps with images of Mary exists on The Mary Page (also available in French). The latest updates were Bhutan, British Indian Ocean Territory, India Portuguesa, Japan, Jordan, Laos, Macau, Maldives Islands, Mongolia, Palestinian Authority, People's Republic of Kampuchea, Philippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Timor, and Vietnam.

We have revised and expanded our material in Chinese.  This is a work in progress, so expect more content soon.  Feel free to let us know what you think of this section.

We have revised our article on Saturday Devotions in Honor of Our Lady.

Return to Top

ESBVM Meeting

Title: Ecumenical Society of the Blessed Virgin Mary (USA) Conference

Date: June 22, 2013, 2013 9 am - 3 pm

Location: DeSales University in Center Valley, Pennsylvania

The conference will include three presentations in the morning, followed by a catered lunch, then a membership meeting after lunch to consider future goals.

Speakers include: Dr. Maura Hearden and representatives of Forward in Faith North America and the Anglican Society of Mary.

For details click into the calendar for DeSales or into the website for the ESBVM (USA).

Return to Top

Vatican Museums Hosts Study Day on Pieta's Reconstruction
Source: Zenit (Vatican City) May 21, 2013

On May 21, 1972, Michelangelo's Pieta, exhibited to the public in St. Peter's Basilica, was attacked by a hammer-wielding tourist who had managed to elude the sanctuary's guards.  Hungarian-born Australian geologist, Laszlo Toth, who suffered from severe mental problems, threw himself at the sculpture shouting, "I am Jesus Christ, risen from the dead!" and struck the Pieta fifteen times destroying the Madonna's nose, breaking off her left forearm, and smashing that arm's elbow into over fifty pieces.

Today, forty-one years later, the Vatican Museums are dedicating a study day to the sculpture's reconstruction entitled: Michelangelo's Pieta: In Memory of 21 May 1972 – A Restoration Story.  During the course of the day's planned events, the complex and delicate task of restoration that took place between 1972 and 1973 in the Vatican Museums under the care of then-director, Brazilian, Deoclecio Redig de Campos, will be analyzed.  Thanks to the existence of numerous casts, the skill of several specialists, and reusing original fragments as well as a paste made of glue and marble dust, it was possible to faithfully restore the work....

Click here for the complete article.

Return to Top

The director and editors of The Mary Page under the auspices of the International Marian Research Institute do not necessarily endorse or agree with the events and ideas expressed in this feature.  Our sole purpose is to report on items about Mary gleaned from a myriad of papers representing the secular press.

The University of Dayton's Marian Library is featuring a collection of photographs that profile Mary and how she is portrayed through the different cultural traditions found in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

Le Point Vierge: Mary and the Catholic Imagination runs through Friday, July 26, in the Marian Library Gallery on the seventh floor of Roesch Library.  Hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and Saturday and Sunday by appointment....

Click here for the complete article.

Return to Top

Marian Commemoration Days

To celebrate the month of June with Mary:

• Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (6/8/2013)

The Mary Page offers a variety of resources inviting study, reflection and meditation.  We also list important Marian dates for each month of the year.  Please see Marian Commemoration Days for the month of June.

Return to Top

You are invited to help us pray for our Prayer Corner intentions.  Please take a look!  This site has been updated and enhanced and now allows users to submit prayer requests directly or to volunteer as a prayer partner for these intentions!

Return to Top

The Mary Page website is updated frequently. Please stop in again and see what's in the news.

Return to Archive