Mary's Virginity in the Magisterium

Mary's perpetual virginity was proclaimed at the Lateran Council in 649, a council whose decrees were sent to all the Churches and approved by them. More recently, John Paul II recalled the reality of the fact and its profound significance, particularly at a conference in Capua on May 24, 1992. This is what he said:

"She truly conceived Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit, without man's intervention. She gave birth to Jesus, truly and in a virginal way; that is why she remained virgin after giving birth, according to the holy Fathers and the councils who have expressly treated the question. The same is true about her bodily integrity. She lived, after Jesus' birth, in total and perpetual virginity; and together with Saint Joseph, who was himself called to play a predominant role in the events of our salvation, she dedicated herself to the service of the person and work of Jesus" (1).   

Let us explain a few expressions:

• The adverb "truly": ("She truly conceived Jesus") denotes a positive anthropology. Mary isn't just a passive uterus, her whole humanity is concerned by the incarnation.
• "By the power of the Holy Spirit": this expression proves the transcendent origin of Jesus. It is a fact, not an idea, but an event which really happened in our history.
• "Perpetual virginity": if it wasn't a reality, virginity wouldn't be a sign and symbol of Jesus' transcendent origin.
• Mary' virginity concerns the conception of Jesus, His birth, and the life which ensued.
• "According to the Holy Fathers and the councils which have expressly treated the question": John Paul II gave three references: Lateran Council, Canon 3; Mansi, Sacrorum Conciliorum nova et amplissima, X, col 1151; Council of Toledo art. 22.

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(1) Pope John Paul II, talk in Capua, May 24, 1992, # 2, published in Actae Apostolicae 85, (1993) 2, p.666.