Marian library seeks to show Mary through new perspectives
A research library at an Ohio university houses what it calls “the largest dedicated collection of materials on Mary in the world” — and its doors are as open as the Blessed Mother's arms.
May 19, 2023
OHIO: A research library at an Ohio university houses what it calls “the largest dedicated collection of materials on Mary in the world” — and its doors are as open as the Blessed Mother's arms.
“We are here for everyone, including people with a personal devotion, artists looking for inspiration, academics and theologians,” Sarah Cahalan, executive director of the Marian Library at the University of Dayton in Dayton, Ohio, told OSV News.
Founded in 1943, the Marian Library lives up to its motto of De Maria numquam satis (Never enough about Mary). Its books, periodicals, articles, prints and religious artefacts — combined with resources in an array of disciplines, including patristics, biblical studies, church history, spirituality, hymnography and iconography — represent 100 languages and form an impressive repository that only one institution can match, said Cahalan.
“It’s not a competition, but obviously the Vatican had a significant head start,” she admitted.
The library, which supports a number of Marian studies programmes offered by the school, led to the creation of the International Marian Research Institute, which hosts the online Marian Forum to promote academic research on Mary. Institute graduate and former faculty member Archbishop Frank Leo now heads the Archdiocese of Toronto, which he entrusted to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Seeing Mary through fresh eyes is a goal of the Marian Library, one that informs its acquisitions policy, said Cahalan. She and her colleagues seek to incorporate “more geographic diversity” in the library’s materials by adding pieces from African, Indigenous and other cultures.
“We are actively working to acquire materials that demonstrate the global reach of devotion to Mary, and give a more comprehensive overview of what that devotion looks like today,” she said, pointing to Our Lady of Kibeho, Rwanda — the only Vatican-approved Marian apparition in Africa — as one example.
With “a majority of its material Catholic” in nature, the library is also making “a concerted effort in recent years to show how Mary is presented in other traditions, such as Islam, which is important for ecumenism and interfaith dialogue,” said Cahalan.
Even a few works by Marian detractors, such as “17th-century Protestant authors writing against Catholicism,” can be found on the library’s shelves, she said. -- ucanews.com
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