The present four Marian dogmas (Divine Maternity, Perpetual Virginity, Immaculate Conception, Assumption) identify the principal prerogatives of the Blessed Virgin Mary during her earthly life and in relation to her Divine Son. But the sublime tasks assigned by the Holy Trinity to the Virgin Mother do not cease there: She has been designated the Spiritual Mother of all people and all nations.

Mary fulfills her role as Spiritual Mother under a three-fold aspect: Mary is Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix of all graces, and Advocate. This doctrine finds abundant support in Sacred Scripture, the Fathers and Doctors of the Church, and in the teachings of the Papal Magisterium.

If, then, the doctrine of Our Lady’s Spiritual Motherhood as expressed in the above three titles is already part of the authoritative doctrinal teachings of the Papal Magisterium, why the need for a papal definition? The proclamation of the dogma would allow the Mother to have her chance to intercede for a new peace and grace for our world. The Holy Father would be declaring our acknowledgement, on the highest level of Catholic truth, that she truly is our universal Spiritual Mother, and that we humbly and trustingly beseech our Heavenly Queen and Mother for the interior peace of Christ in the hearts of humanity that is necessary for any authentic and perduring global peace.

Vox Populi Mariae Mediatrici is an international lay organization that seeks to work for this papal definition by gathering petitions from the faithful throughout the world in humble support of our Holy Father for this final Marian dogma. Vox Populi humbly calls for our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, to proclaim and define the universal mediation of Mary as Coredemptrix, Mediatrix, and Advocate as "Christian dogma revealed by God, in rightful veneration of the Mother of Jesus, and for the good of the one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic Church of Christ". Vox Populi has already received more than 7 million petitions and has also received the endorsements of 43 cardinals and over 550 bishops worldwide from the Universal Church.

On the web: www.fifthmariandogma.com.

The Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse, Wisconsin, faithful to the message of the Blessed Virgin Mary through her appearances on the American continent in 1531, serves the spiritual needs of those who suffer poverty in body and soul. It is a place of ceaseless prayer for the corporal and spiritual welfare of God's children, especially those in most need. The Shrine pays homage to the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mother of America, Star of the New Evangelization and Patroness of the Unborn.

Here the Mother of God, as she always does, leads us to her Son Jesus Christ. She shows us the immeasurable mercy of God by bringing us to her Son, that we might receive from Him the gift of God’s truth and love.

The Shrine is a privileged place of sacramental encounter with Christ and of thanksgiving for God's many blessings, offers solace and strength to the physically and spiritually afflicted, educates adult Catholics in their faith and its practice, and applies to daily life the teachings and guidance of the Catholic Church, especially through the words of Our Holy Father.

On the web: www.guadalupeshrine.org.