Consecration and entrustment to Mary

For centuries, Marian devotions among Roman Catholics have included many examples of personal or collective acts of consecration and entrustment to the Virgin Mary, with the Latin terms oblatio, servitus, commendatio and dedicatio having been used in this context.Consecration is an act by which a person is dedicated to a sacred service, or an act which separates an object, location or region from a common and profane mode to one for sacred use.

Consecration to the Virgin Mary by Roman Catholics has taken place from three perspectives, namely personal, societal and regional and generally in three forms: to the Virgin herself, to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and to the Immaculata. In Catholic teachings, consecration to Mary does not diminish or substitute the love of God, but enhances it, for all consecration is ultimately made to God. Pope Leo XIII, specially encouraged everyone to make acts of consecration to the Virgin Mary based on the methods of Saint Louis de Montfort. Pope Benedict XV also provided strong support for Marian consecration.

Early in the 20th century, Saint Maximilian Kolbe, called the "Apostle of Consecration to Mary", began a vigorous program of promoting consecration to the Immaculata. Theologian Garrigou-Lagrange designated personal consecration to Mary as the highest level among Marian devotions.

Pope John Paul II's motto Totus Tuus (i.e. totally yours) reflected his personal consecration to Mary. He consecrated the entire world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

The beginnings of the notion of "belonging to Mary" can be seen in the writings of Saint Ephrem the Syrian in the 4th century, and a form of personal consecration to Mary dates back to the 5th century, where its practitioners were called "servants of Mary" and the practice was sometimes referred to as "holy servitude". However, the first consistent and repeated use of the concept of consecration to Mary was perhaps by Saint Ildephonsus of Toledo in the 7th century, and Pope John VII also referred to it in the 8th century.

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