Cardinal Burke defends Mary's role as Co-redemptrix at Rome symposium
Cardinal Raymond Burke told an international Marian symposium in Rome on October 7, 2026 that the apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe expresses Mary's share in Christ's redeeming work. He said it also calls every Christian to take part in that work
An international symposium on the Virgin Mary opened in Rome on October 7, 2026. Those taking part include Cardinal Raymond Burke, the Dominican papal theologian Wojciech Giertych, and Father Joseph Hamilton, a former secretary to Cardinal George Pell and a specialist in patristics. The meeting is being held at the Augustinianum, a patristics institute in Rome, under the title "De Maria numquam satis - Of Mary, one can never say enough." It runs for two days and includes theological and historical papers on the Blessed Virgin Mary in dogma and worship.
Cardinal Burke's opening address
Burke opened the proceedings with an address titled "Our Lady of Guadalupe and the reign of Christ the King: the mission of the co-redemptrix and of the co-redeemers." He focused on the apparition of the Virgin of Guadalupe at Tepeyac in 1531, which he described as a singular manifestation of Mary's share in the saving work of her Son. "The objective of my address is to show how the apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe is an expression of the truth of her singular participation in the work of redemption," Burke said.
He said the apparition also reminds the faithful of their own vocation to take part, together with the Virgin of Guadalupe, in the work of the redemptive Incarnation. Burke pointed to the words Mary addressed to St. Juan Diego, in which she presents herself as "the holy Virgin Mary, ever perfect, who has the honor of being the Mother of the one true God."
Mary's cooperation in redemption
Burke then set out the two aspects of Mary's cooperation in redemption: objective redemption, understood as the winning of universal salvation through the sacrifice of Christ, and subjective redemption, which concerns how the graces of redemption are applied to each person. In this second dimension, he said, all Christians are called to take part, and so become co-redeemers.
Burke called for recognition of the Virgin Mary's own mission as Co-redemptrix, saying her role does not belong only to the past but continues today. Our Lady of Guadalupe, he said, reminds every Christian of the call to cooperate in Christ's saving work.
The symposium brings together theologians to examine Mary's role in redemption and her place in the life of the faithful.
