TRADITION THAT THE RISEN CHRIST APPEARED TO HIS MOTHER

 

"Although the Gospel accounts of the Lord's Resurrection do not mention the Blessed Virgin Mary, a tradition dating at least to the fifth century maintains that the risen Christ appeared to His Mother. According to the Latin poet Sedulius, [1] Christ appeared first to the Virgin Mary before any of the other witnesses mentioned by the evangelists or St Paul (1 Cor 15:6). Indeed, in this account, Mary who at the Annunciation served as the gate through which Jesus entered the world, now received the good news of the Lord's Resurrection, precisely in order to become the herald of His second coming. [2]

Saint John Paul II recalled this tradition in several of his Easter messages. [3] After citing Sedelius, the Pontiff considered the value of the tradition.

It seems reasonable to think that Mary, as the image and model of the Church which waits for the Risen One and meets Him in the group of disciples during the Easter appearances, had a personal contact with her risen Son, so that she too could delight in the fullness of paschal joy.

Present at Calvary on Good Friday (cf. Jn. 19:25) and in the Upper Room on Pentecost (cf. Acts 1:14), the Blessed Virgin, too, was probably a privileged witness of Christ's Resurrection, completing in this way her participation in all the essential moments of the Paschal Mystery. Welcoming the risen Jesus, Mary is also a sign and anticipation of humanity, which hopes to achieve its fulfilment through the Resurrection of the dead. [4]

[1] Grokipedia. Coelius Sedulius. Accessed 12/04/2026

https://grokipedia.com/page/coelius_sedulius

[2] Sedelius, Paschale Carmen, 5, 357-364, Sedulii opera omnia, ed Iohannes Huemer (Vienna: Gerold, 1885) Corpus scriptorum ecclesiasticorum latinorum 10:140-141

[3] St John Paul II, Wednesday general audience, April 3 1996. L'Osservatore Romano, English ed. April 10, 1996: Mary "alone remains to keep alive the flame of faith, preparing to receive the joyful and astonishing announcement of the Resurrection," Wednesday general audience May 21, 1997, L'Osservatore Romano, English ed May 28, 1997, 11. Mary was witness to the to whole paschal mystery

https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/audiences/1997/documents/hf_jp-ii_aud_21051997.html

[4] St John Paul II, Wednesday general audience, May 21, 1997, L'Osservatore Romano, English ed. May 28, 1997, II.

Image courtesy of ChatGPT and CN Whittle "Morning Visitation in a Humble Room"

With thanks to grokipedia and vatican.va