Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception

The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary is one of the most important Marian feasts of the liturgical calendar. It is a holyday of obligation this year.

FROM THE UNITED STATES CONFERENCE OF CATHOLIC BISHOPS (USCCB):

Earlier this year (2024), Bishop Thomas J. Paprocki, Chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Canonical Affairs and Church Governance, wrote to the Holy See seeking clarification about the obligation to attend Mass when a holy day of obligation in Advent, Lent, or Easter falls on Sunday and the Solemnity is transferred to Monday.

In a memo to the U.S. bishops dated Thursday, October 10, Bishop Paprocki communicated the Dicastery for Legislative Text’s response: “the feast must be observed as a day of obligation on the day to which it is transferred.”

In light of this new and recent directive, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception Monday, December 9, 2024 is to be observed as a holy day of obligation.

This solemnity recognizes Mary’s privilege of being conceived without the stain of original sin:

“No sin would touch her, so that she would be a fitting and worthy vessel of the Son of God. The Immaculate Conception does not refer to the virginal conception and the birth of Christ, but rather to Mary’s being conceived without inheriting Original Sin.” (United States Catholic Catechism for Adults, 142-143)

In today’s Gospel, we hear and reflect on Mary’s famous words to the angel Gabriel: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” (Luke 2:38)