De Maria numquam satis: an international conference in Rome
By Virginia Coda Nunziante | 9 September 2026
The formula De Maria numquam satis — “Of Mary one can never say enough” — traditionally attributed to St Bernard of Clairvaux, is not a rhetorical exaggeration but expresses a truth deeply rooted in the Tradition of the Church. The mystery of Our Lady, in fact, cannot be separated from that of Jesus Christ and the work of Redemption. The more deeply one explores the person and mission of Mary, the more one comes to understand the Incarnation of the Word, the motherhood of the Church, the communion of saints and the supernatural destiny of humanity.
St Bernard, the Doctor Mellifluus, held boundless trust in the patronage of the Mother of God. “God has willed that we should obtain nothing except through the hands of Mary,” he affirmed in one of his sermons.1 And, addressing those who feel overwhelmed by the storms of life, he urged: “If the winds of temptation arise, if you run aground on the rocks of tribulation, look to the star, call upon Mary.” Whoever follows her does not go astray; whoever calls upon her does not despair; whoever is sustained by her does not fall; and whoever is guided by her reaches port.2
These words do not concern only the trials of the individual soul. They can also be applied to the storms that beset the Church and society as a whole. Pius XII, in the encyclical Doctor Mellifluus of 24 May 1953, after recalling St Bernard’s celebrated invocation, observed that his own time too was threatened by a weakening of faith, the corruption of morals, and hatred and discord among peoples. He therefore invited Christians to ask the Mother of God to obtain “the appropriate remedies” for these overwhelming evils, and to secure “a sincere, solid and fruitful peace for the Church, for peoples, for nations”.3
This invitation applies all the more to our own age, marked by a religious, moral and political crisis so grave and profound that, on a purely human level, no sure way out is in sight. The religious crisis has clouded faith and weakened supernatural life; the moral crisis has overturned the principles governing the lives of individuals, families and societies; the political crisis has worn down institutions and multiplied flashpoints of war throughout the world. The solutions proposed by men often seem to aggravate the very evils they claim to cure, because they spring from the same worldview that produced them.
It is against this backdrop that the international conference De Maria numquam satis will take place in Rome on 7 and 8 October 2026, dedicated to: “The Most Blessed Virgin Mary in Dogma and in Worship: Theological and Historical Contributions”. The gathering aims to honour the Mother of God through a reflection that, precisely because it is never definitively concluded, remains ever living and fruitful. The intention is not to set devotion against doctrine, but to show their intimate unity: true devotion springs from the truth of faith, while doctrine, when authentically lived, is transformed into prayer, trust and love.
On the one hand, attention to the great Marian dogmatic questions will help clarify the theological foundation of the worship rendered to the Most Blessed Virgin, Mother of the Incarnate Word; on the other, the study of the historical forms of Marian piety will show how the faith of the Church has been expressed down the centuries, shedding light on ever new aspects of the inexhaustible mystery of Mary. The conference thus seeks to contribute to the revival of an authentic Marian movement among clergy, religious and lay faithful.
The conference will open on 6 October at 6:45pm with Solemn Vespers in honour of Our Lady of the Rosary, celebrated in the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary on Via Cernaia, and presided over by Archbishop Anthony Colin Fisher of Sydney. Proceedings will begin on 7 October at 9 am in the Aula Magna of the Augustinianum Patristic Institute, Via Paolo VI 25, with the opening address by Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke.
The first day will be devoted to the mystery of Mary in dogma and the Magisterium. Professor Fr Manfred Hauke will speak on Divine Motherhood and the Dogma of Ephesus; Fr Wojciech Giertych OP, Theologian of the Pontifical Household, will explore the primacy of virginal love within Mary’s maternal love. These will be followed by contributions from Fr Ľubomír Urbančok on the contribution of the Roman theological school to the definition of the Immaculate Conception, Fr Joseph Hamilton on the Assumption, and Monsignor Rudolf Michael Schmitz on the Virgin Mary within the sphere of the Incarnation.
The second day will be devoted to Mary in worship, devotion and history. Speakers will include José Antonio Ureta on Marian devotion in Latin America, Fr Claude Barthe on the Virgin in the French School of spirituality, Fr Roberto Spataro SDB on Maria Auxilium Christianorum in the Salesian tradition, and Fr Thomas Crean OP on Mary as conqueror of all heresies in the Dominican tradition. Professor Roberto de Mattei will address the theology of history in the message of Fatima, while His Eminence Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller will conclude the addresses by speaking on the Most Blessed Virgin’s cooperation in the work of Redemption. The day will close with a round-table discussion on “Mary Today: Faith, Doctrine and Devotion in the Contemporary World”, featuring Fr Lawrence Lew OP, Régis de Lassus and Timothy Tindal-Robertson. All addresses will be accompanied by simultaneous translation into Italian, English and French.
It is no coincidence that the conference falls on the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary and the 455th anniversary of the Battle of Lepanto. On 7 October 1571, as the Christian fleet faced the Ottoman fleet in Greek waters, St Pius V called on Christendom to pray the Rosary. The victory, which by human reckoning had been far from certain, was attributed to the intercession of the Virgin Mary. Even today, in the dramatic times we are living through, Mary continues to be the star that shows the way and the Mother who sustains us in trial. It is with this trust that the Roman conference places itself under her patronage, making its own the words with which Pius XII concluded the encyclical Saeculo exeunte octavo: “From Fatima, Our Lady of the Rosary, the great Mother of God who triumphed at Lepanto, will assist you with her powerful patronage”.4
- In vigilia Nativitatis Domini, serm. III, 10: PL 183, 100A ↩︎
- Homilia II super “Missus est”, n. 17: PL 183, 70B-D, 71A ↩︎
- Pius XII, Doctor Mellifluus, in Acta Apostolicae Sedis, 45 (1953), pp. 369-384 ↩︎
- Pius XII, Saeculo exeunte octavo, 13 June 1940, in Acta Apostolicae Sedis, 32 (1940), pp. 249–260 ↩︎