Women in the Catholic Church In AD 431, the Council of Ephesus granted Mary the title of Mother of God. In 553, the Council of Constantinople, proclaimed that she was perpetually a virgin. In 863 AD, the pope pronounced the Feast of Our Lady to be equal to the feasts of Easter and Christmas. By the 12th Century, the Hail Mary prayer had become popular, which in turn led to the widespread use of the rosary. According to historian Geoffrey Blainey, Mary had become the "favoured intermediary through whom the ear of God could be reached". She had become an important subject for theologians and
History of Catholic Mariology a dogma, a position shared by Pope Pius IX. The concept of Co-Redemptrix was also discussed but left open. In its support, Council fathers highlighted the divine motherhood of Mary and called her the mother of all graces. "Rosary Pope" is a title given to Pope Leo XIII (1878–1903) because he issued a record eleven encyclicals on the rosary, instituted the Catholic custom of daily rosary prayer during the month of October, and in 1883 created the Feast of "Queen of the Holy Rosary". John Henry Newman, wrote of the Eve-Mary parallel in support of Mary’s original state of grace