Pope Francis: The Blessed Virgin Mary wasn’t a saint from the beginning

In a Dec. 21, 2018 audience, referring to Our Lady and St. Joseph, Pope Francis told employees of the Vatican that “saints are not born, they become thus, and this is true for them too.” Below is the exact message of the Pope:

"Our Lady and Saint Joseph are full of joy: they look at the Child Jesus and they are happy because, after a thousand worries, they have accepted this gift of God, with so much faith and so much love. They are “overflowing” with holiness and therefore with joy. And you will tell me: of course! They are Our Lady and Saint Joseph! Yes, but let us not think it was easy for them: saints are not born, they become thus, and this is true for them too."

Needless to say, it is most certainly generally true that saints are not born but made over time, with penance and prayer, enabled and aided by the grace of God (cf. Mt 11:30). However, the Blessed Virgin Mary is an exception in that she was perfectly holy from the very beginning of her existence, and this is a dogma defined by Pope Pius IX in 1854: