| Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception | |
|---|---|
 La Inmaculada Concepción, byFrancisco Rizi,Museo del Prado, 17th-century, oil on canvas | |
| Also called | Immaculate Conception Day |
| Observed by | Latin Church |
| Significance | The most pure and sinless conception of theBlessed Virgin Mary withoutoriginal sin |
| Celebrations | procession, fireworks |
| Date | 8 December |
| Related to | Nativity of Mary,Assumption of Mary |
TheSolemnity of the Immaculate Conception celebrates theImmaculate Conception of theBlessed Virgin Mary, on 8 December, nine months before the feast of theNativity of Mary on 8 September. It is one of the most important Marian feasts in theliturgical calendar of theLatin Church.
By pontifical decree, it is thepatronal feast day of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Italy, Korea, Nicaragua, Paraguay, the Philippines, Spain, the United States, and Uruguay. By royal decree, it is designated as the day honoring the patroness of Portugal.
Since 1953, thePope visits theColumn of the Immaculate Conception in thePiazza di Spagna to offer expiatory prayers commemorating the solemn event.
The feast was solemnized as aholy day of obligation on 6 December 1708,[1] by thepapal bullCommissi Nobis Divinitus ofPope Clement XI.[2][3][4] It is celebrated with Masses, parades, fireworks, processions, food and cultural festivities in honor of theBlessed Virgin Mary inCatholic countries.
TheEastern Church first celebrated aFeast of the Conception of the Most Holy and All Pure Mother of God on 9 December, perhaps as early as the 5th century inSyria. The original title of the feast focused more specifically onSaint Anne, being termedSylepsis tes hagias kai theoprometoros Annas ("conception of Saint Anne, the ancestress of God").[5] By the 7th century, the feast was already widely known in the East: on at least two occasions in the Acta of theThird Council of Constantinople (680-681), regarded as ecumenical by both the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches, Mary is called "immaculate" (Achrantos).[6]
Most Orthodox Christians reject theScholastic definition of Mary's preservation from original sin.[7] The feast associated with her immaculate conception, initially celebrated on 8 December, was translated to the Western Church in the 8th century. It then spread from theByzantine Southern Italy to Normandy during the Norman dominance, eventually reaching England, France, Germany, and Rome.[8]
In 1568,Pope Pius V revised theRoman Breviary, and though the Franciscans were allowed to retain the Office and Mass written by Bernardine dei Busti, this office was suppressed for the rest of the Church, and the office of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin was substituted instead, the word "Conception" being substituted for "Nativity".[9]
According to thepapal bullCommissi Nobis Divinitus, dated 6 December 1708,Pope Clement XI mandated the feast as a holy day of obligation which is to be celebrated in future years by the faithful.[10] Furthermore, the pontiff requested that the papal bull benotarized in theHoly See to be further copied and reproduced for dissemination.
Prior to PopePius IX's definition of theImmaculate Conception as a Catholic dogma in 1854, mostmissals referred to it as the Feast of the Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The festal texts of this period focused more on the action of her conception than on the theological question of her preservation from original sin. A missal published in England in 1806 indicates the samecollect for the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary was used for this feast as well.[11]
The first move towards describing Mary's conception as "immaculate" came in the 11th century. In the 15th century,Pope Sixtus IV, while promoting the festival, explicitly tolerated both the views of those who promoted it as the Immaculate Conception and those who challenged such a description, a position later endorsed by theCouncil of Trent.[5]
Theproper for the feast of the Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the medievalSarum missal merely addresses the fact of her conception. The collect for the feast reads:
O God, mercifully hear the supplication of thy servants who are assembled together on the Conception of the Virgin Mother of God, may at her intercession be delivered by Thee from dangers which beset us.[12]
Pope Pius IX on 8 December 1854 issued theapostolic constitutionIneffabilis Deus:
"The mostBlessed Virgin Mary, in the first instant of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the saviour of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin."[13]
According to theUniversal Norms on the Liturgical Year and the Calendar, thesolemnity of the Immaculate Conception cannot replace a Sunday inAdvent; if 8 December falls on a Sunday, the solemnity is transferred to the next day, Monday, 9 December.[14] The 1960Code of Rubrics, still observed by someTraditionalist Catholics in accordance withSummorum Pontificum, allows the feast of the Immaculate Conception to supersede the Sunday in Advent.[15]
When the feast is celebrated on 9 December, the obligation to attend Mass was not transferred in some countries,[16] but in 2024 the Holy See issued a clarification that the obligation is transferred to the day when it is observed.[17][18]
In theChurch of England, the "Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary" may be observed as aLesser Festival on 8 December without the religious designation as "sinless", "most pure" or "immaculate".
The situation in other constituent churches of theAnglican Communion is similar, i.e., as a lesser commemoration.[19]
TheEthiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church celebrates the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on Nehasie 7 (August 13). The 96th chapter of the Kebra Nagast states: "He cleansed Eve's body and sanctified it and made for it a dwelling in her for Adam's salvation. Mary was born without blemish, for He made Her pure, without pollution".[20]
TheEastern Orthodox Churches does not accept the Catholic dogma of the Immaculate Conception. Accordingly, they celebrate 9 December called the “Feast of the Conception by Saint Anne of the Most HolyTheotokos”.
While the Orthodox believe that the Virgin Mary was, from her conception, filled with everygrace of theHoly Spirit, in view of her calling as theMother of God, they do not teach that she was conceived without original sin as their understanding and terminology of the doctrine of original sin differs from the Catholic articulation.[21] The Orthodox do, however, affirm that Mary is "all-holy" and never committed a personal sin during her lifetime.[22]
The Orthodox feast is not a perfect nine months before the feast of theNativity of the Theotokos (8 September) as it is in the West, but a day later. This feast is not ranked among theGreat Feasts of the church year, but is a lesser-ranking feast (Polyeleos).
The solemnity is a registeredpublic holiday in the following sovereign countries and territories:
Andorra
Argentina
Austria
Chile
Colombia — its people cook food and delicacies honoring this day.
Equatorial Guinea
Guam (USA) — celebrates Mary under the title ofOur Lady of Camarin, the island’s patroness.
Italy — it has been a national holiday since 1853. The Pope, asBishop of Rome, visits theColumn of the Immaculate Conception inPiazza di Spagna to offer expiatory prayers and flowers. The day marks the start of the Christmas season in the country.[23]
Liechtenstein
Macau, China — by GovernmentExecutive Order No. 60/2000, published on 29 September 2000, and legally enforced since 1 January 2001.[24]
Malta
Monaco — it is celebrated with food festivities, and the day particularly honours mothers and grandmothers.
Nicaragua – the solemnity is celebrated with local parades and religious processions.
Panama – it is celebrated throughout the country asMother's Day.
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines – a non-working public holiday honouring the Immaculate Conception as Principal Patroness of the nation, signed into law on 28 December 2017.[25] Grand processions of various Marian images and feasting are common.
Portugal
San Marino
Seychelles
Spain — since 8 November 1760, the day is marked as anational holiday as designated byPope Clement XIII.
Switzerland — at present, 13 out of 26cantons have elected to make this is a registered public holiday in accordance with government laws.[26]
East Timor
Vatican
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TheChurch of the Company Fire is a majormass casualty incident that occurred during the celebration of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception inSantiago,Chile; on December 8, 1863. A fire broke out at the start of aMass that was being held at the Church of the Company of Jesus in honour of this feast day. Between 2,000 and 3,000 churchgoers (mostly women) were killed during the fire, a number which represented approximately 2% of the total population ofSantiago at the time according to subsequent estimates. A combination of organisational negligence, overcrowding, mass panic and a highly flammable indoor environment led to a rapidly spreading fire that consumed the church within one hour. Only a relatively small number of people were able to escape. This tragedy is considered one of the largest single building fires by number of victims in the world.[27]
Perhaps the deadliest of all church fire disasters occurred in 1863, in a Jesuit church in Santiago, Chile. Some records say that 2500 people perished
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