The feast of 8th December celebrates the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary. Although it has not always been universally observed, it was officially proclaimed a dogma by the Catholic Church in 1854 by Pope Pius IX, in the bull Ineffabilis Deus.
This feast is a beautiful tribute to Mary’s purity and her special role in the plan of salvation. In many parts of the Catholic world, masses, processions and devotions are held in her honour.
Programme for Sunday 8 December
10.00am: international mass at the Basilica of Saint Pius X, presided over by Archbishop Micas, followed by procession to the Grotto for the Angelus and floral tribute to the Immaculate Conception.
3.00pm: rosary at the Grotto
5.00 pm: celebration of vespers
8.30pm: torch-lit Marian procession
The Sanctuary of Lourdes is joining in this tradition. Thousands of roses will be brought to the Grotto of Massabielle to be laid at Our Lady’s feet, to pay homage to her and thus continue the joy expressed by Bernadette when she said, ‘she had a yellow rose on each foot, the colour of the chain of her rosary.’
Roses for the Immaculate Conception in Lourdes
Roses, particularly white roses, play an important symbolic role in celebrations of the Immaculate Conception. In Catholic tradition, the rose has long been associated with Mary , as it embodies both her purity and her maternal role. White, representing purity, is the principal colour for this feast.
On 8th December, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, the Pope traditionally lays a bouquet of flowers at the foot of a marble column on the Spanish Steps. The column is over 11 metres high and supports a statue of Mary in tribute to her Immaculate Conception.
8th December: floral tribute and the Family of Our Lady of Lourdes
In 1965, Padre Pio asked that, on 8th December the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, a wreath of flowers be laid at the foot of the statue of the Immaculate Conception on the Spanish Steps in Rome. Since then, many of Padre Pio’s prayer groups meet on 8th December each year to go in procession to lay flowers at the foot of the statue, just like the Holy Father and many Romans.
Since 8th December 2015 (50 years after he first proposed it), the Padre Pio prayer groups have been bringing a wreath of flowers to the foot of the statue of the Virgin in the Grotto at Lourdes, on the very spot where, on 25th March 1858, the Apparition revealed her name to Bernadette, ‘I am the Immaculate Conception.’
In order to expand and firmly establish this floral tribute, it was decided that, from 2017 onwards, it would no longer be organised solely by the Padre Pio Prayer Groups, but by the ‘Family of Our Lady of Lourdes’ (of which the Padre Pio Prayer Groups in Paris are a part). This initiative also makes it possible for all those who want to be part of the celebrations in Lourdes, despite the distance, to offer a rose via the Internet.
