Dogma Of The Perpetual Virginity Of Mary

The Virginity of Mary

This defined truth received unanimous acceptance among the early Church Fathers and was unquestionably confirmed by papal definitions and ecumenical councils alike.

The dogma of Mary's Perpetual Virginity proclaims that the Blessed Virgin Mary was always a virgin, before, during, and after the birth of Jesus Christ. This threefold character of Mary's physical virginity was stressed in the definition of Pope St. Martin I at the Lateran Synod in 649 A.D. where he declared it an article of faith:

The blessed ever-virginal and immaculate Mary conceived, without seed, by the Holy Spirit, and without loss of integrity brought Him forth, and after His birth preserved her virginity inviolate.

Let us briefly examine Mary's virginity under these three categories: Mary's virginity before the birth of Christ; her virginity during the birth of Christ; and her virginity following the birth of Christ.

Virginity Before the Birth of Jesus

Mary's virginity before the birth of Jesus is well attested to in Sacred Scripture. The prophecy of Isaiah 7:14 states: "Behold a virgin shall conceive...a Son." Likewise in the Gospel of St. Luke, the Angel Gabriel was sent by God "to a virgin...and the virgin's name was Mary" (Lk 1:27). In the dialogue between the Angel Gabriel and Mary we have a further confirmation of Mary's virginity before the birth of Jesus. Gabriel announces: "You will conceive in your womb and bear a Son" (Lk 1:31). Mary responds: "How will this be since I know not man?" (Lk 1:34). To "know" in this scriptural context is a reference to sexual intercourse. The Angel Gabriel responds: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you" (Lk 1:35).

The dialogue between Mary and the Angel Gabriel brings out both the virginity of Mary and the conception of Jesus in Mary's womb by the miraculous intervention of the Holy Spirit.

The Apostles' Creed professes the truth of Mary's virginity before the birth of Jesus when it states that Jesus Christ "was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary."
The early Fathers of the Church unanimously expressed their belief that Jesus had no human father and was conceived in Mary in a virginal and miraculous manner by the power of the Holy Spirit. This truth was supported by St. Ignatius of Antioch , St. Justin the Martyr , St. Irenaeus of Lyon , and on and on, down the line of the early Church Fathers. The Mother of God's virginity before the birth of Jesus remains a universally accepted Christian truth.

Virginity During the Birth of Jesus

The second aspect of the dogma refers to Mary's physical virginity during the birth of Our Lord, Jesus Christ. Here we can take a more specific look into what the virginal birth of Jesus truly means.

The papal definition of Mary's continued virginity during the birth of Christ refers to the event that at the appointed time of birth, Jesus left the womb of Mary without the loss of Mary's physical virginity. The Church understands Mary's virginity during the birth of Christ as an absence of any physical injury or violation to Mary's virginal seal (in Latin, virginitas in partu) through a special divine action of the all-powerful God. This divine act would safeguard Mary's physical virginity which is both symbol and part of her perfect, overall virginity; a virginity both internal and external, of soul and body.

The Fathers of the Church overwhelmingly taught the "miraculous birth" of Jesus that resulted in no injury to the Blessed Virgin Mary's physical integrity. St. Augustine stated: "It is not right that He who came to heal corruption should by His advent violate integrity." Pope St. Leo the Great proclaimed in his famous Tome to Flavian: "Mary brought Him forth, with her virginity untouched, as with her virginity untouched she conceived Him." Later, St. Thomas Aquinas, the Church's greatest theologian, would defend the miraculous (and therefore painless) nature of Christ's birth. So as light passes through glass without harming it, so too did Jesus pass through the womb of Mary without the opening of Mary's womb and without any physical harm to the tabernacle of the unborn Christ.

Is there any implicit reference in Sacred Scripture to Mary's virginity during the birth of Christ? Scripture does affirm Mary's virgin birth of Our Lord in the great prophecy of Isaiah 7:14. The prophecy foretells that a virgin, beyond conceiving, will also bear a Son as a virgin: "Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son." Therefore, it is not just a virginal conception of Jesus by Mary, but, in fact, a virginal birth as the words "virgin birth" more fully convey.
From the Magisterium, Pope Pius XII in his 1943 encyclical on the Mystical Body of Jesus writes of Mary: "It was she who gave miraculous birth to Christ our Lord" (Mystici Corporis).