The theological and spiritual components of John Paul II’s Mariology are indelibly connected to the person, life and Marian teaching of Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort. Riedl draws attention to the fact that The Perfect Devotion to Mary was a popular and influential spiritual source for Polish Catholics suffering under the Nazi and later communistic regimes. The Christ-centered Mariology is appealing to the Slav mentality where many shrines invite one to a meditation of the sorrowful mysteries in Jesus’ and Mary’s life.  Karol Woytjla was exposed to the writings of de Montfort in 1941 and made the consecration to Jesus Christ through Mary. His episcopal and papal motto totus tuus is based on the Montfortian Marian spirituality. John Paul II renewed this consecration after the attempted assassination in 1981 with a consecration prayer he composed and prayed in Fatima on May 13, 1982. Thus it is not surprising that the Polish Pope also referred to Grignion de Montfort in his Marian encyclical Redemptoris Mater (48).

According to Riedl, John Paul II’s Mariology is contained in nuce in Redemptoris Mater.  Analogous to de Montfort’s Mariology, the papal encyclical is a presentation of theological reflection and spiritual inspiration. The two central foci are Mary in the Mystery of Christ and the ecclesial interpretation of Mary’s honorary title as Mother of the Church (cf. Part II of RM: The Mother of God at the Center of the Pilgrim Church and Part III, Mary’s Maternal Mediation).  Both aspects of John Paul II’s Mariology can be traced back to de Montfort as well as to Bishop Woytjla’s interventions at Vatican II. Together with Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort, John Paul II criticizes Marian devotion that separates the Blessed Virgin Mary from her Son. Both authors emphasize Mary’s cooperation in the economy of salvation in dependence on and subordinate to Jesus Christ. And together with de Montfort, John Paul II promotes consecration to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

However, de Montfort is not the only source of John Paul II’s Mariological reflection. (In RM 48, for example, is also mentioned the founder of the Redemptorists, St. Alphonsus Liguori.) John Paul II distinguishes himself from de Montfort by his original interpretation of biblical and patristic texts and, of course, through his referral to the documents of Vatican II. In view of the unique synthesis of John Paul II’s Mariology, Reidl agrees with Cardinal Wyszynski who called him an “avant-garde devotee of the Most Holy Mother.” [1]