Did Mary have other children after Jesus?

Q: When I was an evangelical, the standard take on Mary’s virginity was that she remained a virgin until after the birth of Jesus, but afterward went on to have normal marital relations with Joseph, which produced up to six more children.

These ideas were based on passages like Matthew 1:25 (“He had no relations with her until she bore a son, and he named him Jesus”) and Matthew 13:55 (“Is not his mother named Mary and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? Are not his sisters all with us?”).

Now, as a Catholic, I am told that Joseph was significantly older than Mary, was a widower with adult children from his first marriage and that Jesus’ “brothers and sisters” were more like stepbrothers and stepsisters.

Could not Mary still have attained “Queen of Heaven and Earth” status without being a perpetual virgin? (Indiana)

A: As to your specific question, whether Mary could be thought of as queen of heaven and earth without having been a perpetual virgin, the answer of course is yes. But that is not the issue here.

The teaching of Mary’s perpetual virginity is one of the longest defined dogmas of the church. It was taught by the earliest church fathers, including Tertullian, St. Athanasius, St. Ambrose and St. Augustine, and it was officially declared a dogma at the fifth ecumenical council at Constantinople in 553.

As to the scriptural passages to which you refer, I would make two points. First, the footnote in the New American Bible explains Matthew 1:25: “The Greek word translated ‘until’ does not imply normal marital conduct after Jesus’ birth, nor does it exclude it.”

As to your other scriptural reference, the words here in their original language do not mean simply biological brothers or sisters, but could apply to other relatives such as stepbrothers or stepsisters or cousins.

There is one tradition that says that Joseph was a widower who married the Virgin Mary later in life after already having a family with his first wife. One is free to believe that, but this is why I would have my doubts. From the cross, Jesus entrusted Mary’s care to the apostle John.

If Jesus had had surviving siblings, that would most likely not have happened. Normal Jewish practice would have Jesus’ siblings at the cross, and the eldest surviving son would be entrusted with the care of his mother.

Fr. Kenneth Doyle - Hawaii Catholic Herald, January 19, 2022 

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