De Maria Numquam Satis Vere: The Conciliar Genesis of Stanisław Celestyn Napiórkowski’s Mariology in Context

Abstract

The concept of practicing Mariology in context was developed in 20th-century Polish theology. Its author is Stanisław Celestyn Napiórkowski, an outstanding theologian and a recognized authority in the international community of Mariologists and ecumenists. The origins of his way of practicing Mariology should be sought in the teaching of the Second Vatican Council. Based on Napiórkowski’s legacy, his concept rests on two fundamental principles—the Christological image of God and the image of the Church as communion—and on three methodological ways of practicing it: based on the Word of God and the signs of Christ, on dialogue and the unity of Christians, and on the experience of the Church and in the Church. Napiórkowski’s methodological-theological model was built on the conciliar hermeneutic of development and has a distinct contextual dimension. However, it cannot be fully classified as classical contextual theology. Practicing Mariology in context by Napiórkowski significantly modified the popular motto De Maria numquam satis vere.