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The Immaculate Conception – December 8
The Immaculate Conception of Mary is the conception of the Virgin Mary without any stain ("macula" in Latin) of Original Sin. It is one of the four dogmas in Roman Catholic Mariology. Under this aspect Mary is sometimes called the Immaculata (the Immaculate One), particularly in artistic contexts.
Through the centuries the Church has become ever more aware that Mary, "full of grace" through God, was redeemed from the moment of her conception. The Immaculate Conception was solemnly defined as a dogma by Pope Pius IX in his constitution Ineffabilis Deus on December 8, 1854: 
The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin.
The "splendor of an entirely unique holiness" by which Mary is "enriched from the first instant of her conception" comes wholly from Christ: she is "redeemed, in a more exalted fashion, by reason of the merits of her Son." The Father blessed Mary more than any other created person "in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places" and chose her "in Christ before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless before him in love." (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 491-492)
Mary, chosen from all time by God to be the Mother of his Son, was preserved from the moment of her conception from Original Sin and filled with sanctifying grace that would normally come with baptism after birth. Catholics believe Mary "was free from any personal or hereditary sin."
Though the dogma was not defined until 1854, from early on in the history of the Catholic Church, in numerous places in the writings of the Church Fathers, the belief is implicitly stated. In various places the Feast of the Immaculate Conception had been celebrated for centuries on December 8. On February 28, 1476, Pope Sixtus IV extended it to the entire Latin Church; he did not define the doctrine as a dogma, thus leaving Roman Catholics free to believe in it or not without being accused of heresy. This freedom was reiterated by the Council of Trent; however, the feast was a strong indication of the Church's traditional belief in the Immaculate Conception. On December 6, 1708, Pope Clement XI decreed that the feast of the Immaculate Conception be a Holy Day of Obligation throughout the entire Catholic Church.
The Catholic Church teaches that the dogma is supported by Scripture (e.g., Mary's being greeted by the Angel Gabriel as "full of grace"), as well as either directly or indirectly by the writings of Church Fathers such as Irenaeus of Lyons and Ambrose of Milan. Catholic theology maintains that, since Jesus became incarnate of the Virgin Mary, it was fitting that she be completely free of sin for expressing her fiat. In 1904, Pope Saint Pius X also addressed the issue in his Marian encyclical Ad Diem Illum on the Immaculate Conception.
Mary's immaculate conception should not be confused with the Incarnation of her son Jesus Christ; the conception of Jesus is celebrated as the Annunciation to Mary. Catholics do not believe that Mary, herself, was the product of a virgin birth.
A PowerPoint presentation showing a variety of photographs from the U.S.A. may be seen by clicking on: http://youtu.be/D3Ymo3i4D8E.
