The consecration and entrustment to the Virgin Mary is a personal or collective act of Marian devotion among Catholics, with the Latin terms oblatio, servitus, commendatio and dedicatio being used in this context. Consecration is an act by which a person is dedicated to a sacred service, or an act which separates an object, location or region from a common and profane mode to one for sacred use. The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments clarifies that in this context, "It should be recalled, however, that the term "consecration" is used here in a broad and non-technical sense: the expression is use of 'consecrating children to Our Lady', by which is intended placing children under her protection and asking her maternal blessing for them". Consecration to the Virgin Mary by Catholics has taken place from three perspectives: personal, societal and regional, and under a number of different titles: the Immaculate Conception, to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, or more recently to Mary, Mother of the Church. Early in the 20th century, Maximilian Kolbe, called the "Apostle of Consecration to Mary", began a vigorous programme of promoting consecration to the Immaculata. In Catholic teachings, consecration to Mary does not diminish or substitute the love of God, but enhances it, for all consecration is ultimately made to God. Theologian Garrigou-Lagrange designated personal consecration to Mary as the highest level among Marian devotions. Pope John Paul II's motto, Totus Tuus ("totally yours"), reflected his personal consecration to Mary. He consecrated the entire world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. History and development The beginnings of the notion of "belonging to Mary" can be seen in the writings of Ephrem the Syrian in the 4th century, and a form of personal consecration to Mary dates back to the 5th century, where its practitioners were called "servants of Mary" and the practice was sometimes referred to as "holy servitude". However, the first consistent and repeated use of the concept of consecration to Mary was perhaps by Ildephonsus of Toledo in the 7th century, and Pope John VII also referred to it in the 8th century. The notion that consecration to Mary is linked with consecration to Christ and has an ultimate Christocentric goal was already present in the 7th century writings of Ildephonsus, when he wrote: "What is delivered up to the Mother rebounds to the Son; thus passes to the