What was the relationship between Eve and Mary?
Many Fathers of the Church call Mary the “new Eve”: Eve disobeyed; Mary believed and obeyed. Genesis 3:20; Luke 1:38; Catechism 411; Catechism 494
What the Bible says
Genesis 3:20
And Adam called the name of his wife Eve: because she was the mother of all the living.
Luke 1:38
And Mary said: Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
Douay-Rheims Bible (Challoner revision), public domain.
What Tradition teaches
The Bible does not call Mary the “new Eve.” Saint Irenaeus calls her that in the second century, and so do many Fathers of the Church. The Catechism takes it up.
What the Church teaches
Saint Irenaeus wrote that the knot of Eve’s disobedience was untied by Mary’s obedience.
Catechism 494; Irenaeus, Against Heresies III, 22, 4 · Catechism of the Catholic Church
Did you know?
In the Hail, Holy Queen we pray: “To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve.” Salve Regina, traditional prayer of the Church