Our Lady, Undoer of Knots

Thanks to Pope Francis, a somewhat forgotten title of Mary has received renewed attention in the past decade or so - Our Lady, Undoer of Knots. Early in his pontificate, Pope Francis named this Marian devotions as one of his favorites, and ever since, more and more faithful Catholics have turned to Our Lady through this devotion for help untying the knots in their own lives.

Our Lady, Undoer of Knots as a devotion developed about 300 years ago, but is grounded in a quote from St. Irenaeus of Lyons from the second century: “The knot of Eve’s disobedience was loosed by the obedience of Mary. For what the virgin Eve had bound fast through unbelief, this did the virgin Mary set free through faith.” In the 1700s, a German painter created the classic Mary, Undoer of Knots portrait, as seen above. This painting shows Mary, surrounded by a band of angels, effortlessly pulling knots out of a tangled piece of cloth. Within the next century, a novena attached to the painting emerged among the faithful. 

This unique devotion to Mary has brought countless people solace. We have created the knots in our own life through our sin, both individual and collective. As much as we may try to undo those knots, we cannot; only God can. Mary, as mediatrix, can play an important role in interceding for us. By turning over the knots in our life to Mary, she can in turn make our case to her Son. Just like our biological mothers, our spiritual mother, in her maternal compassion, can take on the burden of our problems. Though a devotion to Our Lady, Undoer of Knots may not make all of our problems miraculously disappear, we will be filled with spiritual graces that will loosen their grip on us.  

Click here for the Mary, Undoer of Knots novena.

By Anna Neal