‘Of Mary, One Can Never Say Enough’: Major International Marian Conference to Take Place in Rome
A distinguished panel including Cardinals Raymond Burke and Gerhard Müller will explore Our Lady’s role in doctrine, the Magisterium, and the living tradition of Marian devotion.
A major international conference — De Maria numquam satis (“Of Mary, one can never say enough”) — will take place in Rome this coming October to reflect on the mystery of the Blessed Virgin Mary in doctrine, worship and history.
Speakers including Cardinal Raymond Burke, Cardinal Gerhard Müller, papal theologian Dominican Father Wojciech Giertych, and the German Mariologist Professor Manfred Hauke will offer theological and historical contributions on the subject of The Blessed Virgin Mary in Dogma and Worship.
The organisers of the October 7-8 seminar say that the famous saying De Maria numquam satis — “Of Mary, one can never say enough” — attributed to St Bernard of Clairvaux, aptly summarises the traditional view that reflection on the Blessed Virgin Mary is “inexhaustible” because Mary’s unique mission in the mystery of Christ and the Church “continually opens up new horizons for understanding the faith.”
The international conference, to take place at the Augustinian Patristic Institute, will offer a “modest contribution to that reflection which, precisely because it is never concluded, is always necessary and fruitful.”
The organisers go on to explain that on the one hand, attention to the great Marian dogmatic themes “helps us understand the doctrinal foundation of devotion to the Most Blessed Virgin, Mother of the Incarnate Word.”
On the other hand, they say that the study of the historical forms of Marian devotion “illuminates the way in which the faith of the Church has been expressed, and may be expressed, throughout history, without ever exhausting the richness of the mystery of Mary.”
In an additional statement, the organisers say:
“The conference arose from the initiative of several Catholic associations seeking to offer an act of homage to the Blessed Virgin Mary. In an age such as our own—where the figure of the Virgin is often relegated to the margins of theological reflection and spiritual life, and where her unique role in the history of salvation is at times diminished or even obscured—there has emerged an urgent need to reaffirm clearly the singular cooperation of the Mother of God in the work of Redemption.
We are fully conscious that the number of speakers who might have contributed to this initiative is far greater, and that the subjects deserving further study are virtually inexhaustible. Mariology remains one of the richest and most fruitful fields of Catholic theology, for each privilege and virtue of the Virgin opens vast horizons onto the wisdom and mercy of God.
The constraints of time and organization have obliged us to make a necessarily partial selection of both speakers and topics. What is presented here, therefore, is not a point of arrival, but rather a point of departure.
The hope that animates the organizers is that this conference may contribute to the growth of an authentic Marian movement—one capable of engaging clergy, religious, and lay faithful alike in a shared endeavor to restore to Mary the place of honor that rightly belongs to her in the hearts of the faithful.”
The conference will officially open with Solemn Vespers in honour of Our Lady of the Rosary on 6 October at 6.45 pm in the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary (Via Cernaia).
The first day of the conference, on the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, will be dedicated to the theme The Mystery of Mary in Dogma and the Magisterium. The second day, October 8, will comprise talks on Mary in Worship, Devotion and History.
The faithful are warmly invited to attend. Full details can be found on the conference website. Please see the full programme below.
Also from July 29 to 31, 2026, a second “A Day With Mary” symposium will take place in Croydon, London, on the theme My Immaculate Heart Will Be Your Refuge and The Way That Will Lead You to God (Our Lady of Fatima, June 13, 1917). Full details of the symposium and how to register can be found here and here. A synthesis of the 2025 symposium can be watched here. This event is not connected with the Rome conference.
PROGRAMME
October 7, 2026
First Day – The Mystery of Mary in Dogma and the Magisterium
9.00 Reception and registration
9.30 Opening of the congress
9.45 Opening address: His Eminence Card. Raymond Leo Burke
Session I
10.30 Prof. Fr Manfred Hauke
The Divine Motherhood of Mary. The Dogma of Ephesus and its significance
11.15 Coffee break
11.45 Fr Wojciech Giertych, OP
The Primacy of Virginal Love within Mary’s Maternal Love
12.30 Q&A session
13.00 Lunch
15.00 Holy Rosary
Session II
16.00 Fr Ľubomír Urbančok
The contribution of the Roman School of Theology to the definition of the Immaculate Conception
16.45 Fr Joseph Hamilton
The Assumption of Mary. The eschatological fulfilment of the Mother of the Lord
17.30 Mgr Rudolf Schmitz
The Virgin Mary in the context of the Incarnation
October 8, 2026
Second Day – Mary in Worship, Devotion and History
Session III
9.00 Prof. José Antonio Ureta
Marian devotion in Latin America
9.45 Fr Claude Barthe
The Virgin Mary in the French School of Spirituality
10.30 Coffee break
11.00 Fr Roberto Spataro, SDB
Maria Auxilium Christianorum in the Salesian tradition
11.45 Fr Thomas Crean, OP
Mary, Victorious over All Heresies in the Dominican tradition
12.30 Q&A session
13.00 Lunch
15.00 Holy Rosary
Session IV
16.00 Prof. Roberto de Mattei
The theology of history in the message of Fatima
16.45 His Eminence Card. Gerhard Ludwig Müller
The Blessed Virgin Mary’s cooperation in the Redemption
17.30 Closing round-table discussion
Mary Today: Faith, Doctrine and Devotion in the contemporary world
St Padre Pio, was accompanied by the Blessed Mother continually throughout his life. He once stated that the 'Blessed Mother was that sea that we all must cross in order to reach the shores of salvation'-- I know he must sanction this much needed panel; and what an exalted panel of learned, spiritual shepherds!
Too Much Tucho will have the Swiss Guards expel them from the Vatican over their paper-work or demand the Conferenve MUST be conducted in Latin.