Given that Mariology is a field where numerous theological disciplines meet, it is consequently also one of the most controversial ecumenical areas. This paper therefore refers to the Second Vatican Council, which has a particular ecumenical interest precisely in Mariology. After singling out the main ecumenical characteristics of the Council's Mariology, the paper focuses on guidelines for true Marian devotion, for which the Council explicitly states that it "consists neither in sterile or transitory affection" (...) "but proceeds from true faith" (LG, 67). According to the Council's understanding, proper Marian devotion consists in an imitation of Mary who is "in eminent and singular fashion as exemplar both of virgin and mother" (LG, 63). This paper is an attempt to understand the wider meaning of the quoted expression and its impact on the life of the Church. Theological interpretation of virginity and motherhood, as we find it in the New Testament and the Mariology of the Church Fathers, suggests that these values should be understood as properties of the Christian faith, which is a gift of grace and reward for abandonment. Mary's virginity and motherhood thus appear as fundamental determinants of faith, from which fact stems the power of the Council's invitation to a Christian imitation of these values. Such Mariology and the Council's conception of Marian devotion give rise to a significant ecumenical potential, as the paper will attempt to demonstrate
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