In the official Church Proclaimation of December 8, 1854, Pius IX pronounced and defined that the Blessed Virgin Mary “in the first instance of her conception, by a singular privilege and grace granted by God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the human race, was preserved exempt from all stain of original sin.”
The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception celebrates the saving work of God in preserving the Blessed Virgin Mary from the stain of original sin. Because of His foreknowledge that Mary would consent to bear Christ, God kept Mary free from original sin from the moment of her conception in the womb of her mother, Saint Anne.
As Catholics we celebrate this Marian feast day on December 8th of each year. It is a holy day of obligation for all Catholics to attend Mass on this day. This year December 8th falls on a Saturday so we will celebrate this feast day with a vigil Mass on December 7th at 7 pm.
