Paul VI – Closing Address of Vatican II (December 8, 1965): The Immaculate Mary, Model of the Post-Conciliar Church.

On December 8, 1965, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, Pope Paul VI solemnly closed the Second Vatican Council. The final address (paragraphs 474-475 of Enchiridion Vaticanum vol. 1) culminates in an extraordinary Marian contemplation: Mary Immaculate as a model for the post-conciliar Church and a starting point for implementing the Council’s work.

The Enchiridion Vaticanum vol. 1, paragraphs 474-475
Pope: Blessed Paul VI
Date: December 8, 1965 (solemn closure of Vatican II on the feast of the Immaculate Conception)

Original Italian Text, n. 474*

Our greeting therefore becomes ideal. Does it become a dream? Does it become poetry? Does it become a conventional and empty hyperbole, as often happens in our usual effusive greetings? No. It becomes ideal, but not unreal. Just one more moment of your attention. When we men direct our thoughts, our desires towards an ideal conception of life, we immediately find ourselves either in utopia, or in rhetorical caricature, or illusion, or disappointment. Man retains the unquenchable aspiration for total and ideal perfection, but he does not reach it by himself, neither through concept nor through experience and reality. We know this; and the drama of man, the fallen king.

But observe what happens this morning: as we close the Ecumenical Council, we celebrate Most Holy Mary, Mother of Christ, and therefore, as we said before, Mother of God and our spiritual Mother. We say that Mary is immaculate! That is to say, innocent, splendid, perfect; that is to say, the Woman, the true ideal and real Woman at once; the creature in whom the image of God reflects with absolute clarity, without any disturbance as happens in every human creature.

Portuguese Translation, n. 474

Our greeting then becomes ideal. Does it become a dream? Does it become poetry? Does it become conventional and empty hyperbole, as often happens in our usual augural outpourings? No. It becomes ideal, but not unreal. A moment more of your attention. When we men take our thoughts, our desires to an ideal conception of life, we immediately find ourselves either in utopia, or in rhetorical caricature, or in illusion, or in disappointment. Man preserves the inexhaustible aspiration for total and ideal perfection, but he does not reach it by himself, not even in concept, and still less in experience and reality. We know this: it is the drama of man, of the fallen king.

But consider what is happening this morning: as we conclude the Ecumenical Council, we celebrate the Most Holy Mary, the Mother of Christ, and therefore, as we said on another occasion, the Mother of God and our spiritual Mother. Most Holy Mary, we say, Immaculate! That is to say, innocent; that is to say, wonderful; that is to say, perfect; that is to say, the Woman, the true ideal and real Woman at the same time: the creature in whom the image of God is reflected with absolute clarity, without any disturbance as happens in every human creature.

n. 475*, the inspiring model

English:

It is not perhaps by fixing our gaze on this humble Woman, our Sister and at the same time celestial Mother and Queen, a clear and sacred mirror of infinite Beauty, that we can conclude our spiritual ascent conciliarized and this final greeting? And what can begin our post-conciliar work? Does not the beauty of Mary Immaculate become for us an inspiring model? A comforting hope?

Historical Significance

The final address of Vatican II on December 8, 1965, holds historical importance:

• Date: December 8, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, chosen deliberately to connect the conclusion with the foundational Marian mystery of the dogma of 1854.
• Triad of Concepts: Mary as Mother, Sister, and Queen simultaneously, a synthesis of the Marian ecclesial relationship.
• Post-Conciliar Agenda: Mary as the starting point for the “post-conciliar work,” all the implementation of the Council will take place under her maternal care.
• Comprehensive Inclusion: The address concludes by referring to Mary as “ideal and real Woman together,” a feminist Christian perspective avant la lettre.

Connection with Mater Ecclesiae

This speech is the complement to the address of November 21, 1964 (see post on Mater Ecclesiae). The two texts form a Marian diptych: in the 1964 proclamation, Mary is declared Mother of the Church; at the 1965 conclusion, Mary is presented as the model for the post-conciliar work of implementing the renewed Church by the Council.

Further Reading

• Lumen Gentium Chapter VIII
• Mater Ecclesiae Proclamation, 1964
• Marialis Cultus
• Ineffabilis Deus

Learn more about the Immaculate Conception.