In Lourdes, the feast of the Immaculate Conception and the 170th anniversary of the proclamation of the dogma by Pope Pius IX are celebrated on Sunday 8th December. However, in 2024, because the 8th of December falls on a Sunday, the Church celebrates the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on the 9th.
The celebration of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary – which falls in the first few days of the new liturgical year and the Advent season – reminds us of the unique destiny of this Jewish woman, chosen by God. For the Christian faith, Mary is inseparable from the child she bore, Jesus, in whom the living God was fully manifested.
Programme for Sunday 8 December
10:00 am: 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: vespers celebration
8:30pm: torchlit Marian procession
The dogma of the Immaculate Conception
The dogma of the Immaculate Conception, solemnly proclaimed on 8 December 1854 by Pope Pius IX in the Bull Ineffabilis Deus, affirms that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was preserved from original sin from the moment of her conception. The text of the Bull states:
“We declare, pronounce and define that the doctrine which holds that the Blessed Virgin Mary, at the first instant of her conception, by a singular privilege and grace of the Omnipotent God, in virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of mankind, was preserved immaculate from all stain of original sin, has been revealed by God, and therefore should firmly and constantly be believed by all the faithful.”
This dogma confirms Mary’s unique role in God’s plan of salvation. She was chosen to be the mother of the Saviour, and for this reason, she benefitted from a special grace that kept her free from sin, a grace in view of the merits of Jesus Christ.
Lourdes and the Immaculate Conception
Four years after the dogma was proclaimed, in 1858, the Marian apparitions in Lourdes confirmed the magnitude of the mystery of the Immaculate Conception. On 25th March of that year, during the sixteenth apparition, Mary revealed her name to the young Bernadette Soubirous in the Grotto of Massabielle: ‘I am the Immaculate Conception.’ These words, spoken by Mary herself, gave divine confirmation, through little Bernadette, of the dogma proclaimed a few years earlier by the Pope.
From the beginning, Mary was chosen for this unique mission, to bear in her womb the Saviour of the world. The celebration of the Immaculate Conception invites us to reflect on this exceptional grace, and on the love of God that allowed Mary to be so blessed that she could fully accomplish her mission as Mother of God.
Since the Council of Ephesus in 431, Mary has been recognised as Theotokos, or ‘Mother of God’, a title that underlines the inseparability of the person of Mary from her Son, Jesus Christ. By honouring Mary through this beautiful feast, we are also celebrating the mission of salvation accomplished by Jesus.
The novena prayer (from 30 th November to 8 th December)
Blessed Virgin Mary, at your school, Bernadette entered into a relationship with the Holy Trinity through the sign of the Cross.
By teaching her prayer and penance for sinners, you conveyed to her the joy of salvation.
You revealed to her the beauty of your pure heart when you said, “I am the Immaculate Conception”.
With Bernadette, we turn to you trusting completely in your maternal intercession.
Accept the intentions of our hearts in this novena of prayer (especially for…)
Our Lady of Lourdes,
We pray to you especially for our own conversion and that of all sinners.
Also, watch over all those who suffer in body or soul.
In the hope that Life will triumph over death, from this moment and for ever more, we want to sing with you the glory of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen!
Every day: 1 Our Father, 10 Hail Marys,
1 Glory be to the Father.
Confession and communion are particularly recommended during the novena.
