My Hope for the New Pope: Remember Your Mother
Mary's Spiritual Motherhood of the Church
Just days after submitting a draft of my book manuscript tentatively entitled, Remember Your Mother: Encounters with Mary Today (Baker/Brazos, Forthcoming 2026), Francis Maier asked me to write a piece for First Things reflecting on a message for the new pope. You can read that piece here (be sure to scroll down to see it).
My hope for the new pope is simple: that he loves Mary as his spiritual mother, recognizes Mary as the mother of the Church, and teaches that Mary is the New Eve.
As a Catholic woman who teaches primarily Protestant students at Princeton Theological Seminary, they are often surprised to realize that Catholics hold Mary in higher esteem than anyone, even the pope. In my article for First Things, as in my forthcoming book, I suggest that we have entered a new age of ecumenism with our Protestant brothers and sisters in which Mary and the liturgy are bridge builders, not barriers.
Personally, I long for a pope who is a new St. Augustine—a man of formidable intellect like St. Thomas Aquinas—and a man whose writings about the conversion of the heart make him sound like an Evangelical, thus opening the door to greater ecumenical dialogue. As we approach Mother’s Day (in the US at least), let’s not forget Augustine’s mother, St. Monica, who prayed for her son’s conversion with great fervor. We need spiritual warriors praying for the next Holy Father to truly be holy, and we must remember that Mary is the most holy of all Christ’s disciples.
As I listened appreciatively earlier today to two popular female Evangelical influencers discuss spiritual motherhood, women’s roles in the home, ministry, and society, I was struck by how the only direct reference to Mary invited us to picture her as an economically poor woman with a baby in a stable. Mary’s biological motherhood of Jesus is crucial, but it’s not the only thing we can say about Mary from Scripture.
There were numerous references to women in the Old Testament for their courage, prophecy, and leadership. The Book of Genesis was mentioned as containing a prophecy of Jesus as the New Adam. Eve was identified as the cause of our fall, yet still the mother of all the living, and it was noted that Jesus came to us through “a woman.” Why come SO close to naming Mary as that woman, the New Eve, and then relegating her only to a place at Jesus's crib? Doing so contributes to forgetfulness about Mary as our spiritual mother and to amnesia that the church fathers called Mary the New Eve.
Referring to Mary as the New Eve is not merely a way to honor her (though that is important); rather, it serves as a reminder for all men to respect women (as the podcasters said), to love their mothers, and for all pastors—Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox— to regard Mary as a spiritual mother.
When the podcasters I listened to today suggested that young women turn to a wise older woman for advice, I thought:
“Mary is your ‘older woman friend’. She’s in Scripture—not just the New Testament, but the Old Testament (if you know how to read signs). She’s in art. She’s in liturgy. Mary is your heart already, waiting for you to remember her as your spiritual mother.”
Below are conversations with Orthodox artists Jonathan Pageau and Aidan Hart about Mary; both grew up Evangelical. Also included are discussions with readers of Comment magazine, a leading Christian publication which reaches Christians of many denominations.
Margarita Mooney Clayton, Ph.D.
Video Resources on Mary
Here’s my online conversation with readers of Comment magazine about my article published there on Mary and the meaning of obedience.
Here’s my first online conversation about Mary with Orthodox artist and writer Jonathan Pageau.
Master iconographer and author Aidan Hart explains how sacred art helps us understand the meaning of Mary’s discernment at the Annunciation.