Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), University of Dayton, 2022, Theology

Mary's purity has been a subject of theological inquiry for over a millennium. This project's objective is to follow the development of the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception historically to the ways it became manifest in the Spanish kingdoms of the Middle Ages, how it was brought and taught to the Nahua and Maya in the sixteenth century evangelization of Central Mexico by Spanish friars, and then how it remained a powerful force of evangelical and political fervor in New Spain through the analysis of three seventeenth century homilies about the Immaculate Conception. Whereas the conquest of the Americas is largely remembered for the brutalities and injustices committed, the Spanish friars who implemented a wide-scale evangelization of the Native Americans were interested in the sincere conversions of people like the Nahua and Maya. This dissertation studies the evangelization methods of the sixteenth century Franciscan friars in Central Mexico with particular attention to the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception and to Marian belief and devotion. The study also takes into account the cosmologies and ways of living of the Nahua and Maya, the two most prominent cultural groups in Mesoamerica at the time. The interaction between the friars and the natives is viewed in light of their respective cultural heritages. The spiritual concerns of the friars and their indoctrination of the Nahua and Maya are studied in light of the religious heritage of the Spanish kingdoms of the Middle Ages and the defense of the belief in the Immaculate Conception of Mary. The Spanish friars make Mary central to their evangelization of Central Mexico, along with Christ and the Cross. The first three chapters deal with the pre-Hispanic Mesoamerican world with respect to Nahua and Maya cosmologies, the Catholicism of the Iberian Peninsula up to the expansion to the Americas, and the development of the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception respectively. Chapter four focuses on the ev (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Neomi DeAnda (Advisor); Sébastien (Bakpenam) Abalodo (Committee Member); Sandra Yocum (Committee Member); Dennis Doyle (Committee Member); Gilberto Cavazos-González (Committee Member) Subjects: Latin American History; Latin American Literature; Latin American Studies; Middle Ages; Native Americans; Religious Education; Religious History; Spirituality; Theology

Doctorate in Sacred Theology (S.T.D.), University of Dayton, 2021, International Marian Research Institute

Saint Manuel Gonzalez Garcia was a bishop of Spain in the first part of the twentieth century. While his writings on the Eucharist are manifold, this work is the first to uncovers in a systematic fashion his rich Marian texts, revealing a beautiful and well-balanced Mariology. Saint Manuel provides rich insights into Mary and her Immaculate Motherhood as a lens through which one can gain better insight into the reception of the Eucharist, of her coredemption, of Mary as mother of priests, and of her participation in the heavenly liturgy.

Committee: Deyanira Flores STD (Committee Chair); Thomas Thompson STL, PhD (Committee Member); Antonio Larocca STD (Committee Member) Subjects: Clergy; Religion; Religious Congregations; Theology

Doctorate in Sacred Theology (S.T.D.), University of Dayton, 2021, International Marian Research Institute

Saint Manuel Gonzalez Garcia was a bishop of Spain in the first part of the twentieth century. While his writings on the Eucharist are manifold, this work is the first to uncovers in a systematic fashion his rich Marian texts, revealing a beautiful and well-balanced Mariology. Saint Manuel provides rich insights into Mary and her Immaculate Motherhood as a lens through which one can gain better insight into the reception of the Eucharist, of her coredemption, of Mary as mother of priests, and of her participation in the heavenly liturgy.

Committee: Deyanira Flores STD (Committee Chair); Thomas Thompson STL, PhD (Committee Member); Antonio Larocca STD (Committee Member) Subjects: Clergy; Religion; Religious Congregations; Theology

MA, Kent State University, 2021, College of the Arts / School of Art

In 14th century Italy, there was a gradual, but consistent rise in devotion to the Virgin Mother (Mary) throughout many of the smaller city-states within the peninsula of Italy, as evidenced by an explosion of artwork, architectural monuments, and festivals in her honor. Medieval Siena had a strong dedication to the Virgin Mary because of her intercession during the Battle of Montaperti. This devotion manifested itself both physically and artistically during the Duecento and Trecento in Italy. Siena was not unique in these practices, as festivals and rituals that venerated the Virgin were held throughout all the city-states. Using Siena and the art of Duccio di Buoninsegna as a pinnacle, this thesis traces the development in humanization and naturalism in Mary from the Middle Byzantine period and culminating with Duccio's Maesta of 1311. It is important to trace this timeline starting with the Byzantines because their own devotional cult to Mary heavily inspired Italian art in the Duecento. Within this timeline, it is apparent that artists, patrons, and parishioners alike began to want Mary to be depicted in a more naturalistic way. They wanted this feature in their art so she could be more relatable. This helped to sculpt and shape an entirely new appreciation of Mary in devotional circles and in the public sphere. This interplay between the stylistic choices made by artists and the devotional relevance of their subject matter is unique and worth further investigation. Within these works (typically frescoes and panel paintings), painters were able to convey the relevance of not only Mary's divinity but her human life as well. Panels, especially more naturalistic panels, were paraded through cities, festivals were constructed around newly painted frescoes; parishioners had more access to the Virgin than any time previously due to the human-like stylistic shift in imagery. These progressive steps taken by artists like Duccio gave a physical manifestation of a relatab (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Gustav Medicus (Advisor); Kristin Stasiowski (Committee Chair) Subjects: Art History

Licentiate in Sacred Theology (S.T.L.), University of Dayton, 2020, International Marian Research Institute

Saint Manuel Gonzalez Garcia was a bishop of Spain in the first part of the twentieth century. While his writings on the Eucharist are manifold, relatively little has been researched in terms of his Marian thought. Viewing the original Spanish texts of his published works through a Mariological lens reveals profound insights into Mary as the Immaculate Mother. Narrowing the scope of the various aspects of Mary's Divine Motherhood found in Saint Manuel's writing, this thesis focuses on those of Mary as efficacious helper, intercessor, and teacher. There is a goldmine of Mariological insight waiting to be uncovered in the writing of this recently canonized saint.

Committee: Thomas Thompson PhD (Advisor); Deyanira Flores STD (Committee Member) Subjects: Religion; Religious History; Theology

Master of Arts (M.A.), University of Dayton, 2015, Theological Studies

This study analyzes the work of the American Mariologist Fr. Juniper B. Carol O.F.M. (1911-1990) in light of his historical and theological context. Carol's work focused primarily on the Coredemption, which he studied before Vatican II, and the primacy of Christ, which he studied after the Council. Carol's work significantly influenced international Mariology and provides an example of how one Mariologist responded to the theological developments that occurred after Vatican II. Carol's work demonstrates the influence of his Franciscan heritage, in both his pre-Conciliar discussion of Mary's mediation and Coredemption and his post-Conciliar discussion of the debitum peccati, the preservative redemption, and the predestination and primacy of Christ. In his pre-Conciliar work, Carol argued that Mary immediately participated in the objective Redemption by co-meriting with Christ. His main argument in support of this position was based on the Patristic principle of recirculation-association and Mary's role as the New Eve. After the Second Vatican Council, Carol began to study topics related to the predestination of Christ and Mary. Carol held the Franciscan position regarding Christ's primacy in the order of predestination; however, he also maintained that the Redemption was predestined prior to the Fall. In addition, he favored the idea that the Passion was primarily an act of perfect worship rendered to the Father, making the Redemption a secondary reason for the Incarnation. Our study investigates why Carol maintained this surprising variation on the traditional Franciscan thesis and argues that his position is an implicit attempt to defend his pre-Conciliar work on the Coredemption using themes present in Lumen Gentium. Our study begins by considering the ultramontanism and anti-modernism of the early twentieth century and discusses Carol's pre-Conciliar work on the Coredemption in light of this context and the debates within the Marian movement. Next, it consi (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: William Portier (Committee Chair); Dennis Doyle (Committee Member); Sandra Yocum (Committee Member) Subjects: Religion; Religious History; Theology

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2005, Arts and Sciences : Geography

From the beginnings of human history, people have designated particular locations as sacred and traveled to them in a pilgrimage. When Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire in 314 CE, Christian shrines emerged very soon at martyrs' tombs and other places of historical importance in development of this religion. The distribution of physical relics created many of the Christian shrines in Western Europe. Popular belief concerning Mary began to evolve upon Jesus' death; and in turn, most of these beliefs were adopted into Roman Catholic doctrine and became Mariology or Marianism, the veneration of Mary. In Western Europe, a number of shrines were created from an apparition of Mary to local people, and with any shrine's approval by the institutional Church, it gained an international reputation and following; shrines not granted this approval by the Church have remained less internationally well-known and mostly locally based. This study contrasts the process of Marian shrine development in Western Europe with the United States. A typology is created for Marian shrines in the United States based primarily on the occurrence of an apparition. The distribution of each types is shown and possible explanations are presented. Not a single apparition location has received the approval of the Church. Since the majority of Marian apparition sites in Western Europe have been approved, it was possible to use a classification system based on the reason for their founding. Whereas none of the United States sites have been approved, it was necessary to construct another typology. Thus, this study finds a somewhat different rationale for development of Marian shrines in the United States when compared to Western Europe.

Committee: Dr. Roger M Selya (Advisor) Subjects: