FEBRUARY SEMINAR

“Sweet Mother and Militant Virgin:

The Two Faces of Mary"

Notre Dame, Paris, North Transept Portal Tympanum (detail)

Date: Wednesday 11 February 2026

Time: 3pm in the UK

[9am in Mexico and US CT; 10am in US ET; 4pm in France and Poland]

Venue: Online via Zoom

Theme

In our February research seminar, Dr Patrizia Granziera will discuss how Mary is considered to be one of the most powerful symbols of Christianity. She is presented as the Theotokos, sitting on a throne holding Jesus on her lap. In other images she is represented as a gentle mother, sometimes playing with or nursing her child.

However, there are other images of Mary in Christian art that associate the Virgin with war and conquest. Throughout the Crusades, Mary often appeared to those in battle alongside warrior saints like Michael, George and James, giving support to those seeking victory against the heathens. The Virgin’s role in warfare was not limited, however, merely to apparitions of encouragement. A tradition of direct intervention in battle by Mary and the saints arose in Medieval Spain under the influence of Islamic culture. These images of Mary as a conqueror over evil and heresies, which originated in Europe, spread to the New World. In this seminar, Dr Patrizia Granziera will discuss how Mary, Mother of God and symbol of the Catholic Church, came to be regarded over the centuries as a powerful militant divinity who wields offensive weapons and is ready for conflict. This analysis will be based on the examination of texts and devotional images.

Our Guest Speaker

Dr Patrizia Granziera has a Ph.D. in Art History from the University of Warwick and is currently Professor of Art History at the University of Morelos, Cuernavaca, Mexico. Her research focuses on the iconography of gardens and landscapes and on the image and symbolism of the divine feminine. In Mexico, she has been researching the religious iconography of the Mexican landscape and its relationship with the image of Mary and pre-Hispanic Goddesses. Her publications include a co-authored book entitled The Image of the Divine Feminine in Mexico: Aztec Goddesses and Christian Madonnas (Ashgate Publishing House 2012).

How to register

To receive the free Zoom link, please send an email to Catherine O'Brien at info@marianstudies.ac.uk