Jesus, not Mary, saved the world, Vatican declares as Pope Leo calls on Catholics to stop using her 'confusing' title

DailymailNov 4, 2025Read original

Jesus may have heard words of wisdom from his mother Mary, but she did not help him save the world from damnation, the Vatican has said.

In a new decree approved by Pope Leo, the Vatican's top doctrinal office instructed the world's 1.4 billion Catholics not to refer to Mary as the 'co-redeemer'.

Jesus alone saved the world, said the new instruction, adding that her title creates 'confusion' with regard to the 'truths of the Christian faith'.

The move settles an internal debate that has befuddled senior Church figures for decades, and even sparked rare open disagreement among recent popes.

'It would not be appropriate to use the title "co-redemptrix",' said the text.

'This title ... (can) create confusion and an imbalance in the harmony of the truths of the Christian faith.'

Catholics believe Jesus redeemed humanity by his crucifixion and death.

But church scholars have debated for centuries whether Mary, who Catholics and many Christians call the Mother of God, helped Jesus save the world.

In a new decree approved by Pope Leo, the Vatican's top doctrinal office instructed the world's 1.4 billion Catholics not to refer to Mary as the 'co-redeemer'

Illustration from 1915 shows Jesus Christ with the Virgin Mary and Mary Magdalene

The late

fiercely opposed granting Mary the title of 'co-redeemer', at one point calling the idea 'foolishness'.

'She never wanted to take anything for herself from her son,' Francis, who died in April, said in 2019.

Francis' predecessor, Benedict XVI, also opposed the title.

His predecessor, John Paul II, supported it, but stopped using the title publicly in the mid-1990s after the doctrinal office began expressing scepticism.

The new Vatican instruction highlighted Mary's role as an intermediary between God and humanity.

By giving birth to Jesus, she 'opened the gates of the Redemption that all humanity had awaited', it said.

According to the Bible, Mary's response to the angel who told her she would become pregnant was: 'Let it be.'

The doctrine announcement comes less than two weeks after King Charles became the first British monarch in 500 years to pray in public with a pope.

His Majesty, accompanied by his wife, Queen Camilla, were introduced to Pope Leo XIV in the Apostolic Palace library on October 23 - the traditional place for such meetings.

Pope Leo XIV presides at a Requiem Mass for the late Pope Francis yesterday

Then, with three short words, the Pope ended almost half a millennium of division between the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England in the Sistine Chapel.

'Let us pray,' he said, as the King stood to his left.

The day's ceremonial events began with a Guard of Honour provided by the iconic Swiss Guard and the playing of both the British and Vatican City national anthems.

Their Majesties were also met by a group of 'Papal Gentlemen' and the 'Gentlemen of the Pope', Prince of Windisch-Gaetz, Mariano Hugo, before being guided inside.

The Swiss Guards are one of the oldest and most prestigious European military forces, drawn exclusively from Roman Catholic Swiss citizens who have completed military training. They fulfill ceremonial functions and form the Pope's bodyguard.

After the King and Queen were introduced to the pope, there was an exchange of gifts - with His Majesty presenting the Catholic leader with a large silver photograph, and Icon of St Edward the Confessor.

The Pope presented His Majesty with a scale version of the mosaic of 'Christ Pantocrator', in the Norman Cathedral of Cefalu, in Sicily. The mosaic was made in the Vatican.

The King also met with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Holy See's Cardinal Secretary of State, who attended his coronation in May 2023.

The Cardinal was the first papal representative to attend the Coronation of a British monarch for almost 500 years.

The visit came 40 years after Queen Elizabeth II banned the King from taking part in a papal Mass when he visited Vatican City with former wife Diana, Princess of Wales in 1985.

Charles, 76, who has been a life-long advocate for better inter-Faith dialogue and relations, had been keen to join Pope John Paul II in prayer.