1854
An Immaculate Conception?
On this date in 1854 Pope Pius IX issued the bull Ineffabilis Deus which proclaimed:
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 Saviour 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.
The belief that the Virgin Mary, alone of all humankind, had been conceived without sin had long been discussed in the church. The longstanding veneration of Mary, the use of the term “Theotokos” or “God-Bearer” and the celebration of her conception on December 8 led some by the thirteenth century to proclaim that she was ever sinless. The notion of an “immaculate conception” was opposed by Dominicans such as Albertus Magnus and Thomas Aquinas but the doctrine was supported by Franciscans, particularly in Britain. Protestant reformers were willing to view Mary as personally without sin but denied that her conception was free of the taint of human corruption.
Pope Pius’s declaration was strengthened by the apparition of the Virgin to Bernadette Soubirous at Lourdes in 1858. The female form which Bernadette claimed to see announced, “I am the Immaculate Conception”. The feast on December 8 is a national holiday in some Catholic countries and is especially celebrated in Portugal and parts of Latin America.