Ineffabilis Deus
Apostolic Constitution of Pope Pius IX on the Immaculate Conception (December 8, 1854)
God ineffable -- whose ways are mercy and truth, whose will is
omnipotence itself, and whose wisdom "reaches from end to end
mightily, and orders all things sweetly" -- having foreseen from all
eternity the lamentable wretchedness of the entire human race which
would result from the sin of Adam, decreed, by a plan hidden from the
centuries, to complete the first work of his goodness by a mystery
yet more wondrously sublime through the Incarnation of the Word.
This he decreed in order that man who, contrary to the plan of Divine
Mercy had been led into sin by the cunning malice of Satan, should
not perish; and in order that what had been lost in the first Adam
would be gloriously restored in the Second Adam. From the very
beginning, and before time began, the eternal Father chose and
prepared for his only-begotten Son a Mother in whom the Son of God
would become incarnate and from whom, in the blessed fullness of
time, he would be born into this world. Above all creatures did God
so lover her that truly in her was the Father well pleased with
singular delight. Therefore, far above all the angels and all the
saints so wondrously did God endow her with the abundance of all
heavenly gifts poured from the treasury of his divinity that this
mother, ever absolutely free of all stain of sin, all fair and
perfect, would possess that fullness of holy innocence and sanctity
than which, under God, one cannot even imagine anything greater, and
which, outside of God, no mind can succeed in comprehending fully.
SUPREME REASON FOR THE PRIVILEGE: THE DIVINE MATERNITY
And indeed it was wholly fitting that so wonderful a mother
should be ever resplendent with the glory of most sublime holiness
and so completely free from all taint of original sin that she would
triumph utterly over the ancient serpent. To her did the Father will
to give his only-begotten Son -- the Son whom, equal to the Father and
begotten by him, the Father loves from his heart -- and to give this
Son in such a way that he would be the one and the same common Son of
God the Father and of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It was she whom the
Son himself chose to make his Mother and it was from her that the
Holy Spirit willed and brought it about that he should be conceived
and born from whom he himself proceeds.[1]
LITURGICAL ARGUMENT
The Catholic Church, directed by the Holy Spirit of God, is the
pillar and base of truth and has ever held as divinely revealed and
as contained in the deposit of heavenly revelation this doctrine
concerning the original innocence of the august Virgin -- a doctrine
which is so perfectly in harmony with her wonderful sanctity and
preeminent dignity as Mother of God -- and thus has never ceased to
explain, to teach and to foster this doctrine age after age in many
ways and by solemn acts. From this very doctrine, flourishing and
wondrously propagated in the Catholic world through the efforts and
zeal of the bishops, was made very clear by the Church when she did
not hesitate to present for the public devotion and veneration of the
faithful the Feast of the Conception of the Blessed Virgin.[2] By
this most significant fact, the Church made it clear indeed that the
conception of Mary is to be venerated as something extraordinary,
wonderful, eminently holy, and different from the conception of all
other human beings -- for the Church celebrates only the feast days of
the saints.
And hence the very words with which the Sacred Scriptures speak
of Uncreated Wisdom and set forth his eternal origin, the Church,
both in its ecclesiastical offices and in its liturgy, has been wont
to apply likewise to the origin of the Blessed Virgin, inasmuch as
God, by one and the same decree, had established the origin of Mary
and the Incarnation of Divine Wisdom.
ORDINARY TEACHING OF THE ROMAN CHURCH
These truths, so generally accepted and put into practice by the
faithful, indicate how zealously the Roman Church, mother and teacher
of all Churches, has continued to teach this doctrine of the
Immaculate Conception of the Virgin. Yet the more important actions
of the Church deserve to be mentioned in detail. For such dignity
and authority belong to the Church that she alone is the center of
truth and of Catholic unity. It is the Church in which alone
religion has been inviolably preserved and from which all other
Churches must receive the tradition of the Faith.[3]
The same Roman Church, therefore, desired nothing more than by
the most persuasive means to state, to protect, to promote and to
defend the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception. This fact is most
clearly shown to the whole world by numerous and significant acts of
the Roman Pontiffs, our predecessors. To them, in the person of the
Prince of the Apostles, were divinely entrusted by Christ our Lord,
the charge and supreme care and the power of feeding the lambs and
sheep; in particular, of confirming their brethren, and of ruling and
governing the universal Church.
VENERATION OF THE IMMACULATE
Our predecessors, indeed, by virtue of their apostolic
authority, gloried in instituting the Feast of the Conception in the
Roman Church. They did so to enhance its importance and dignity by a
suitable Office and Mass, whereby the prerogative of the Virgin, her
exception from the hereditary taint, was most distinctly affirmed. As
to the homage already instituted, they spared no effort to promote
and to extend it either by the granting of indulgences, or by
allowing cities, provinces and kingdoms to choose as their patroness
God's own Mother, under the title of "The Immaculate Conception."
Again, our predecessors approved confraternities, congregations and
religious communities founded in honor of the Immaculate Conception,
monasteries, hospitals, altars, or churches; they praised persons who
vowed to uphold with all their ability the doctrine of the Immaculate
Conception of the Mother of God. Besides, it afforded the greatest
joy to our predecessors to ordain that the Feast of the Conception
should be celebrated in every church with the very same honor as the
Feast of the Nativity; that it should be celebrated with an octave by
the whole Church; that it should be reverently and generally observed
as a holy day of obligation; and that a pontifical Capella should be
held in our Liberian pontifical basilica on the day dedicated to the
conception of the Virgin. Finally, in their desire to impress this
doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God upon the
hearts of the faithful, and to intensify the people's piety and
enthusiasm for the homage and the veneration of the Virgin conceived
without the stain of original sin, they delighted to grant, with the
greatest pleasure, permission to proclaim the Immaculate Conception
of the Virgin in the Litany of Loreto, and in the Preface of the
Mass, so that the rule of prayer might thus serve to illustrate the
rule of belief. Therefore, we ourselves, following the procedure of
our predecessors, have not only approved and accepted what had
already been established, but bearing in mind, moreover, the decree
of Sixtus IV, [4] have confirmed by our authority a proper Office in
honor of the Immaculate Conception, and have with exceeding joy
extended its use to the universal Church.[5]
THE ROMAN DOCTRINE
Now inasmuch as whatever pertains to sacred worship is intimately
connected with its object and cannot have either consistency or
durability if this object is vague or uncertain, our predecessors, the
Roman Pontiffs, therefore, while directing all their efforts toward
an increase of the devotion to the conception, made it their aim not
only to emphasize the object with the utmost zeal, but also to
enunciate the exact doctrine.[6] Definitely and clearly they taught
that the feast was held in honor of the conception of the Virgin.
They denounced as false and absolutely foreign to the mind of the
Church the opinion of those who held and affirmed that it was not the
conception of the Virgin but her sanctification that was honored by
the Church. They never thought that greater leniency should be
extended toward those who, attempting to disprove the doctrine of the
Immaculate Conception of the Virgin, devised a distinction between
the first and second instance of conception and inferred that the
conception which the Church celebrates was not that of the first
instance of conception but the second. In fact, they held it was
their duty not only to uphold and defend with all their power the
Feast of the Conception of the Blessed Virgin but also to assert that
the true object of this veneration was her conception considered in
its first instant. Hence the words of one of our predecessors,
Alexander VII, who authoritatively and decisively declared the mind
of the Church: "Concerning the most Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of
God, ancient indeed is that devotion of the faithful based on the
belief that her soul, in the first instant of its creation and in the
first instant of the soul's infusion into the body, was, by a special
grace and privilege of God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, her
Son and the Redeemer of the human race, preserved free from all stain
of original sin. And in this sense have the faithful ever solemnized
and celebrated the Feast of the Conception."[7]
Moreover, our predecessors considered it their special solemn
duty with all diligence, zeal, and effort to preserve intact the
doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God. For, not
only have they in no way ever allowed this doctrine to be censured or
changed, but they have gone much further and by clear statements
repeatedly asserted that the doctrine by which we profess the
Immaculate Conception of the Virgin is on its own merits entirely in
harmony with the ecclesiastical veneration; that it is ancient and
widespread, and of the same nature as that which the Roman Church has
undertaken to promote and to protect, and that it is entirely worthy
to be used in the Sacred Liturgy and solemn prayers. Not content
with this they most strictly prohibited any opinion contrary to this
doctrine to be defended in public or private in order that the
doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin might remain
inviolate. By repeated blows they wished to put an end to such an
opinion. And lest these oft-repeated and clearest statements seem
useless, they added a sanction to them.
PAPAL SANCTIONS
All these things our illustrious predecessor, Alexander VII,
summed up in these words: "We have in mind the fact that the Holy
Roman Church solemnly celebrated the Feast of the Conception of the
undefiled and ever-Virgin Mary, and has long ago appointed for this a
special and proper Office according to the pious, devout, and
laudable instruction which was given by our predecessor, Sixtus IV.
Likewise, we were desirous, after the example of our predecessors, to
favor this praiseworthy piety, devotion, feast and veneration -- a
veneration which is in keeping with the piety unchanged in the Roman
Church from the day it was instituted. We also desired to protect
this piety and devotion of venerating and extolling the most Blessed
Virgin preserved from original sin by the grace of the Holy Spirit.
Moreover, we were anxious to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the
bond of peace in the flock of Christ by putting down arguments and
controversies and by removing scandals. So at the instance and
request of the bishops mentioned above, with the chapters of the
churches, and of King Philip and his kingdoms, we renew the
Constitutions and Decrees issued by the Roman Pontiffs, our
predecessors, especially Sixtus IV,[8] Paul V,[9] and Gregory XV,[10]
in favor of the doctrine asserting that the soul of the Blessed
Virgin, in its creation and infusion into the body, was endowed with
the grace of the Holy Spirit and preserved from original sin; and
also in favor of the feast and veneration of the conception of the
Virgin Mother of God, which, as is manifest, was instituted in
keeping with that pious belief. So we command this feast to be
observed under the censures and penalties contained in the same
Constitutions.
"And therefore, against all and everyone of those who shall
continue to construe the said Constitutions and Decrees in a manner
apt to frustrate the favor which is thereby given to the said
doctrine, and to the feast and relative veneration, or who shall dare
to call into question the said sentence, feast and worship, or in any
way whatever, directly or indirectly, shall declare themselves
opposed to it under any pretext whatsoever, were it but only to the
extent of examining the possibilities of effecting the definition, or
who shall comment upon and interpret the Sacred Scripture, or the
Fathers or Doctors in connection therewith, or finally, for any
reason, or on any occasion, shall dare, either in writing or
verbally, to speak, preach, treat, dispute or determine upon, or
assert whatsoever against the foregoing matters, or who shall adduce
any arguments against them, while leaving them unresolved, or who
shall disagree therewith in any other conceivable manner, we hereby
declare that in addition to the penalties and censures contained in
the Constitutions issued by Sixtus IV to which we want them to be
subjected and to which we subject them by the present Constitution,
we hereby decree that they be deprived of the authority of preaching,
reading in public, that is to say teaching and interpreting; and that
they be also deprived ipso facto of the power of voting, either
actively or passively, in all elections, without the need for any
further declaration; and that also, ipso facto, without any further
declaration, they shall incur the penalty of perpetual disability
from preaching, reading in public, teaching and interpreting, and
that it shall not be possible to absolve them from such penalty, or
remove it, save through ourselves, or the Roman Pontiffs who shall
succeed us.
"We also require that the same shall remain subject to any other
penalties which by us, of our own free will -- or by the Roman
Pontiffs, our successors (according as they may decree) -- shall be
deemed advisable to establish, and by the present Constitution we
declare them subject thereto, and hereby renew the above Decrees and
Constitutions of Paul V and Gregory XV.
"Moreover, as regards those books in which the said sentence,
feast and relative veneration are called into question or are
contradicted in any way whatsoever, according to what has already
been stated, either in writing or verbally, in discourses, sermons,
lectures, treatises and debates -- that may have been printed after the
above-praised Decree of Paul V, or may be printed hereafter we hereby
prohibit them, subject to the penalties and censures established by
the Index of prohibited books, and ipso facto, without any further
declaration, we desire and command that they be held as expressly
prohibited."[11]
TESTIMONIES OF THE CATHOLIC WORLD
All are aware with how much diligence this doctrine of the
Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God has been handed down,
proposed and defended by the most outstanding religious orders, by
the more celebrated theological academies, and by very eminent
doctors in the sciences of theology. All know, likewise, how eager
the bishops have been to profess openly and publicly, even in
ecclesiastical assemblies, that Mary, the most holy Mother of God, by
virtue of the foreseen merits of Christ, our Lord and Redeemer, was
never subject to original sin, but was completely preserved from the
original taint, and hence she was redeemed in a manner more sublime.
THE COUNCIL OF TRENT
Besides, we must note a fact of the greatest importance indeed.
Even the Council of Trent itself, when it promulgated the dogmatic
decree concerning original sin, following the testimonies of the
Sacred Scriptures, of the Holy Fathers and of the renowned Council,
decreed and defined that all men are born infected by original sin;
nevertheless, it solemnly declared that it had no intention of
including the blessed and immaculate Virgin Mary, the Mother of God,
in this decree and in the general extension of its definition.
Indeed, considering the times and circumstances, the Fathers of Trent
sufficiently intimated by this declaration that the Blessed Virgin
Mary was free from the original stain; and thus they clearly
signified that nothing could be reasonably cited from the Sacred
Scriptures, from Tradition, or from the authority of the Fathers,
which would in any way be opposed to so great a prerogative of the
Blessed Virgin.[12]
TESTIMONIES OF TRADITION
And indeed, illustrious documents of venerable antiquity, of
both the Eastern and the Western Church, very forcibly testify that
this doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of the most Blessed
Virgin, which was daily more and more splendidly explained, stated
and confirmed by the highest authority, teaching, zeal, knowledge,
and wisdom of the Church, and which was disseminated among all
peoples and nations of the Catholic world in a marvelous manner -- this
doctrine always existed in the Church as a doctrine that has been
received from our ancestors, and that has been stamped with the
character of revealed doctrine. For the Church of Christ, watchful
guardian that she is, and defender of the dogmas deposited with her,
never changes anything, never diminishes anything, never adds
anything to them; but with all diligence she treats the ancient
documents faithfully and wisely; if they really are of ancient origin
and if the faith of the Fathers has transmitted them, she strives to
investigate and explain them in such a way that the ancient dogmas of
heavenly doctrine will be made evident and clear, but will retain
their full, integral, and proper nature, and will grow only within
their own genus -- that is, within the same dogma, in the same sense
and the same meaning.
INTERPRETERS OF THE SACRED SCRIPTURE
The Fathers and writers of the Church, well versed in the
heavenly Scriptures, had nothing more at heart than to vie with one
another in preaching and teaching in many wonderful ways the Virgin's
supreme sanctity, dignity, and immunity from all stain of sin, and
her renowned victory over the most foul enemy of the human race.
This they did in the books they wrote to explain the Scriptures, to
vindicate the dogmas, and to instruct the faithful. These
ecclesiastical writers in quoting the words by which at the beginning
of the world God announced his merciful remedies prepared for the
regeneration of mankind -- words by which he crushed the audacity of
the deceitful serpent and wondrously raised up the hope of our race,
saying, "I will put enmities between you and the woman, between your
seed and her seed"[13] -- taught that by this divine prophecy the
merciful Redeemer of mankind, Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of
God, was clearly foretold: That his most Blessed Mother, the Virgin
Mary, was prophetically indicated; and, at the same time, the very
enmity of both against the evil one was significantly expressed.
Hence, just as Christ, the Mediator between God and man, assumed
human nature, blotted the handwriting of the decree that stood
against us, and fastened it triumphantly to the cross, so the most
holy Virgin, united with him by a most intimate and indissoluble
bond, was, with him and through him, eternally at enmity with the
evil serpent, and most completely triumphed over him, and thus
crushed his head with her immaculate foot.[14]
This sublime and singular privilege of the Blessed Virgin,
together with her most excellent innocence, purity, holiness and
freedom from every stain of sin, as well as the unspeakable abundance
and greatness of all heavenly graces, virtues and privileges -- these
the Fathers beheld in that ark of Noah, which was built by divine
command and escaped entirely safe and sound from the common shipwreck
of the whole world;[15] in the ladder which Jacob saw reaching from
the earth to heaven, by whose rungs the angels of God ascended and
descended, and on whose top the Lord himself leaned'[16] in that bush
which Moses saw in the holy place burning on all sides, which was not
consumed or injured in any way but grew green and blossomed
beautifully;[17] in that impregnable tower before the enemy, from
which hung a thousand bucklers and all the armor of the strong;[18]
in that garden enclosed on all sides, which cannot be violated or
corrupted by any deceitful plots;[19] as in that resplendent city of
God, which has its foundations on the holy mountains;[20] in that
most august temple of God, which, radiant with divine splendors, is
full of the glory of God;[21] and in very many other biblical types
of this kind. In such allusions the Fathers taught that the exalted
dignity of the Mother of God, her spotless innocence and her sanctity
unstained by any fault, had been prophesied in a wonderful manner.
In like manner did they use the words of the prophets to
describe this wondrous abundance of divine gifts and the original
innocence of the Virgin of whom Jesus was born. They celebrated the
august Virgin as the spotless dove, as the holy Jerusalem, as the
exalted throne of God, as the ark and house of holiness which Eternal
Wisdom built, and as that Queen who, abounding in delights and
leaning on her Beloved, came forth from the mouth of the Most High,
entirely perfect, beautiful, most dear to God and never stained with
the least blemish.
THE ANNUNCIATION
When the Fathers and writers of the Church meditated on the fact
that the most Blessed Virgin was, in the name and by order of God
himself, proclaimed full of grace[22] by the Angel Gabriel when he
announced her most sublime dignity of Mother of God, they thought that
this singular and solemn salutation, never heard before, showed that
the Mother of God is the seat of all divine graces and is adorned
with all gifts of the Holy Spirit. To them Mary is an almost infinite
treasury, an inexhaustible abyss of these gifts, to such an extent
that she was never subject to the curse and was, together with her
Son, the only partaker of perpetual benediction. Hence she was
worthy to hear Elizabeth, inspired by the Holy Spirit, exclaim:
"Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your
womb."[23]
MARY COMPARED WITH EVE
Hence, it is the clear and unanimous opinion of the Fathers that
the most glorious Virgin, for whom "he who is mighty has done great
things," was resplendent with such an abundance of heavenly gifts,
with such a fullness of grace and with such innocence, that she is an
unspeakable miracle of God -- indeed, the crown of all miracles and
truly the Mother of God; that she approaches as near to God himself
as is possible for a created being; and that she is above all men and
angels in glory. Hence, to demonstrate the original innocence and
sanctity of the Mother of God, not only did they frequently compare
her to Eve while yet a virgin, while yet innocence, while yet
incorrupt, while not yet deceived by the deadly snares of the most
treacherous serpent; but they have also exalted her above Eve with a
wonderful variety of expressions. Eve listened to the serpent with
lamentable consequences; she fell from original innocence and became
his slave. The most Blessed Virgin, on the contrary, ever increased
her original gift, and not only never lent an ear to the serpent, but
by divinely given power she utterly destroyed the force and dominion
of the evil one.
BIBLICAL FIGURES
Accordingly, the Fathers have never ceased to call the Mother of
God the lily among thorns, the land entirely intact, the Virgin
undefiled, immaculate, ever blessed, and free from all contagion of
sin, she from whom was formed the new Adam, the flawless, brightest,
and most beautiful paradise of innocence, immortality and delights
planted by God himself and protected against all the snares of the
poisonous serpent, the incorruptible wood that the worm of sin had
never corrupted, the fountain ever clear and sealed with the power of
the Holy Spirit, the most holy temple, the treasure of immortality,
the one and only daughter of life -- not of death -- the plant not of
anger but of grace, through the singular providence of God growing
ever green contrary to the common law, coming as it does from a
corrupted and tainted root.
EXPLICIT AFFIRMATION . . .
As if these splendid eulogies and tributes were not sufficient,
the Fathers proclaimed with particular and definite statements that
when one treats of sin, the holy Virgin Mary is not even to be
mentioned; for to her more grace was given than was necessary to
conquer sin completely.[24] They also declared that the most
glorious Virgin was Reparatrix of the first parents, the giver of
life to posterity; that she was chosen before the ages, prepared for
himself by the Most High, foretold by God when he said to the
serpent, "I will put enmities between you and the woman."[25] --
unmistakable evidence that she crushed the poisonous head of the
serpent. And hence they affirmed that the Blessed Virgin was,
through grace, entirely free from every stain of sin, and from all
corruption of body, soul and mind; that she was always united with
God and joined to him by an eternal covenant; that she was never in
darkness but always in light; and that, therefore, she was entirely a
fit habitation for Christ, not because of the state of her body, but
because of her original grace.
. . . OF A SUPEREMINENT SANCTITY
To these praises they have added very noble words. Speaking of
the conception of the Virgin, they testified that nature yielded to
grace and, unable to go on, stood trembling. The Virgin Mother of
God would not be conceived by Anna before grace would bear its
fruits; it was proper that she be conceived as the first-born, by
whom "the first-born of every creature" would be conceived. They
testified, too, that the flesh of the Virgin, although derived from
Adam, did not contract the stains of Adam, and that on this account
the most Blessed Virgin was the tabernacle created by God himself and
formed by the Holy Spirit, truly a work in royal purple, adorned and
woven with gold, which that new Beseleel[26] made. They affirmed
that the same Virgin is, and is deservedly, the first and especial
work of God, escaping the fiery arrows the evil one; that she is
beautiful by nature and entirely free from all stain; that at her
Immaculate Conception she came into the world all radiant like the
dawn. For it was certainly not fitting that this vessel of election
should be wounded by the common injuries, since she, differing so much
from the others, had only nature in common with them, not sin. In
fact, it was quite fitting that, as the Only-Begotten has a Father in
heaven, whom the Seraphim extol as thrice holy, so he should have a
Mother on earth who would never be without the splendor of holiness.
This doctrine so filled the minds and souls of our ancestors in
the faith that a singular and truly marvelous style of speech came
into vogue among them. They have frequently addressed the Mother of
God as immaculate, as immaculate in every respect; innocent, and
verily most innocent; spotless, and entirely spotless; holy and
removed from every stain of sin; all pure, all stainless, the very
model of purity and innocence; more beautiful than beauty, more
lovely than loveliness; more holy than holiness, singularly holy and
most pure in soul and body; the one who surpassed all integrity and
virginity; the only one who has become the dwelling place of all the
graces of the most Holy Spirit. God alone excepted, Mary is more
excellent than all, and by nature fair and beautiful, and more holy
than the Cherubim and Seraphim. To praise her all the tongues of
heaven and earth do not suffice.
Everyone is cognizant that this style of speech has passed almost
spontaneously into the books of the most holy liturgy and the Offices
of the Church, in which they occur so often and abundantly. In them,
the Mother of God is invoked and praised as the one spotless and most
beautiful dove, as a rose ever blooming, as perfectly pure, ever
immaculate, and ever blessed. She is celebrated as innocence never
sullied and as the second Eve who brought forth the Emmanuel.
PREPARATION FOR THE DEFINITION
No wonder, then, that the Pastors of the Church and the faithful
gloried daily more and more in professing with so much piety,
religion, and love this doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of the
Virgin Mother of God, which, as the Fathers discerned, was recorded in
the Divine Scriptures; which was handed down in so many of their most
important writings; which was expressed and celebrated in so many
illustrious monuments of venerable antiquity; which was proposed and
confirmed by the official and authoritative teaching of the Church.
Hence, nothing was dearer, nothing more pleasing to these pastors
than to venerate, invoke, and proclaim with most ardent affection the
Virgin Mother of God conceived without original stain. Accordingly,
from ancient times the bishops of the Church, ecclesiastics,
religious orders, and even emperors and kings, have earnestly
petitioned this Apostolic See to define a dogma of the Catholic Faith
the Immaculate Conception of the most holy Mother of God. These
petitions were renewed in these our own times; they were especially
brought to the attention of Gregory XVI, our predecessor of happy
memory, and to ourselves, not only by bishops, but by the secular
clergy and religious orders, by sovereign rulers and by the faithful.
Mindful, indeed, of all these things and considering them most
attentively with particular joy in our heart, as soon as we, by the
inscrutable design of Providence, had been raised to the sublime
Chair of St. Peter -- in spite of our unworthiness -- and had begun to
govern the universal Church, nothing have we had more at heart -- a
heart which from our tenderest years has overflowed with devoted
veneration and love for the most Blessed Virgin -- than to show forth
her prerogatives in resplendent light.
That we might proceed with great prudence, we established a
special congregation of our venerable brethren, the cardinals of the
holy Roman Church, illustrious for their piety, wisdom, and knowledge
of the sacred scriptures. We also selected priests, both secular and
regular, well trained in the theological sciences, that they should
most carefully consider all matters pertaining to the Immaculate
Conception of the Virgin and make known to us their opinion.
THE MIND OF THE BISHOPS
Although we knew the mind of the bishops from the petitions
which we had received from them, namely, that the Immaculate
Conception of the Blessed Virgin be finally defined, nevertheless, on
February 2, 1849,[27] we sent an Encyclical Letter from Gaeta to all
our venerable brethren, the bishops of the Catholic world, that they
should offer prayers to God and then tell us in writing what the piety
and devotion of their faithful was in regard to the Immaculate
Conception of the Mother of God. We likewise inquired what the
bishops themselves thought about defining this doctrine and what
their wishes were in regard to making known with all possible
solemnity our supreme judgment.
We were certainly filled with the greatest consolation when the
replies of our venerable brethren came to us. For, replying to us
with a most enthusiastic joy, exultation and zeal, they not only
again confirmed their own singular piety toward the Immaculate
Conception of the most Blessed Virgin, and that of the secular and
religious clergy and of the faithful, but with one voice they even
entreated us to define our supreme judgment and authority the
Immaculate Conception of the Virgin. In the meantime we were indeed
filled with no less joy when, after a diligent examination, our
venerable brethren, the cardinals of the special congregation and the
theologians chosen by us as counselors (whom we mentioned above),
asked with the same enthusiasm and fervor for the definition of the
Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God.
Consequently, following the examples of our predecessors, and
desiring to proceed in the traditional manner, we announced and held a
consistory, in which we addressed our brethren, the cardinals of the
Holy Roman Church. It was the greatest spiritual joy for us when we
heard them ask us to promulgate the dogmatic definition of the
Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mother of God.[28]
Therefore, having full trust in the Lord that the opportune time
had come for defining the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin
Mary, Mother of God, which Holy Scripture, venerable Tradition, the
constant mind of the Church, the desire of Catholic bishops and the
faithful, and the memorable Acts and Constitutions of our
predecessors, wonderfully illustrate and proclaim, and having most
diligently considered all things, as we poured forth to God
ceaseless and fervent prayers, we concluded that we should no longer
delay in decreeing and defining by our supreme authority the
Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin. And thus, we can
satisfy the most holy desire of the Catholic world as well as our own
devotion toward the most holy Virgin, and at the same time honor more
and more the only begotten Son, Jesus Christ our Lord through his
holy Mother -- since whatever honor and praise are bestowed on the
Mother redound to the Son.
THE DEFINITION
Wherefore, in humility and fasting, we unceasingly offered our
private prayers as well as the public prayers of the Church to God
the Father through his Son, that he would deign to direct and
strengthen our mind by the power of the Holy Spirit. In like manner
did we implore the help of the entire heavenly host as we ardently
invoked the Paraclete. Accordingly, by the inspiration of the Holy
Spirit, for the honor of the Holy and undivided Trinity, for the
glory and adornment of the Virgin Mother of God, for the exaltation
of the Catholic Faith, and for the furtherance of the Catholic
religion, by the authority of Jesus Christ our Lord, of the Blessed
Apostles Peter and Paul, and by our own:
We declare, pronounce, and
define that the doctrine which holds that the most Blessed Virgin
Mary, in the first instance of her conception, by a singular grace
and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus
Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved free from all
stain of original sin, is a doctrine revealed by God and therefore to
be believed firmly and constantly by all the faithful.
[Declaramus, pronuntiamus et definimus doctrinam quae tenet
beatissimam Virginem Mariam in primo instanti suae conceptionis
fuisse singulari Omnipotentis Dei gratia et privilegio, intuitu
meritorum Christi Jesu Salvatoris humani generis, ab omni originalis
culpae labe praeservatam immunem, esse a Deo revelatam, atque idcirco
ab omnibus fidelibus firmiter constanterque credendam.]
Hence, if anyone shall dare -- which God forbid! -- to think
otherwise than as has been defined by us, let him know and understand
that he is condemned by his own judgment; that he has suffered
shipwreck in the faith; that he has separated from the unity of the
Church; and that, furthermore, by his own action he incurs the
penalties established by law if he should dare to express in words or
writing or by any other outward means the errors he thinks in his
heart.
HOPED-FOR RESULTS
Our soul overflows with joy and our tongue with exultation. We
give, and we shall continue to give, the humblest and deepest thanks
to Jesus Christ, our Lord, because through his singular grace he has
granted to us, unworthy though we be, to decree and offer this honor
and glory and praise to his most holy Mother. All our hope do we
repose in the most Blessed Virgin -- in the all fair and immaculate one
who has crushed the poisonous head of the most cruel serpent and
brought salvation to the world: in her who is the glory of the
prophets and apostles, the honor of the martyrs, the crown and joy of
all the saints; in her who is the safest refuge and the most
trustworthy helper of all who are in danger; in her who, with her
only-begotten Son, is the most powerful Mediatrix and Conciliatrix in
the whole world; in her who is the most excellent glory, ornament,
and impregnable stronghold of the holy Church; in her who has
destroyed all heresies and snatched the faithful people and nations
from all kinds of direst calamities; in her do we hope who has
delivered us from so many threatening dangers. We have, therefore, a
very certain hope and complete confidence that the most Blessed
Virgin will ensure by her most powerful patronage that all
difficulties be removed and all errors dissipated, so that our Holy
Mother the Catholic Church may flourish daily more and more
throughout all the nations and countries, and may reign "from sea to
sea and from the river to the ends of the earth," and may enjoy
genuine peace, tranquility and liberty. We are firm in our
confidence that she will obtain pardon for the sinner, health for the
sick, strength of heart for the weak, consolation for the afflicted,
help for those in danger; that she will remove spiritual blindness
from all who are in error, so that they may return to the path of
truth and justice, and that here may be one flock and one shepherd.
Let all the children of the Catholic Church, who are so very
dear to us, hear these words of ours. With a still more ardent zeal
for piety, religion and love, let them continue to venerate, invoke
and pray to the most Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, conceived
without original sin. Let them fly with utter confidence to this
most sweet Mother of mercy and grace in all dangers, difficulties,
needs, doubts and fears. Under her guidance, under her patronage,
under her kindness and protection, nothing is to be feared; nothing
is hopeless. Because, while bearing toward us a truly motherly
affection and having in her care the work of our salvation, she is
solicitous about the whole human race. And since she has been
appointed by God to be the Queen of heaven and earth, and is exalted
above all the choirs of angels and saints, and even stands at the
right hand of her only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, she
presents our petitions in a most efficacious manner. What she asks,
she obtains. Her pleas can never be unheard.
Given at St. Peter's in Rome, the eighth day of December, 1854,
in the eighth year of our pontificate.
Pius IX
FOOTNOTES
1. Et quidem decebat omnino, ut perfectissimae sanctitatis
splendoribus semper ornata fulgeret, ac vel ab ipsa originalis culpae
labe plane immunis amplissimum de antiquo sepente triumphum referret
tam venerabilis mater, cui Deus Pater unicum Filius suum, quem de
corde suo aequalem sibi genitum tamquam seipsum diligit, ita dare
disposuit, ut naturaliter esset unus idemque communis Dei Patris et
Virginis Filius, et quam ipse Filius, Filius substantialiter facere
sibi matrem elegit, et de qua Siritus Sanctus voluit et operatus est,
ut conciperetur et nasceretur ille, de quo ipse procedit.
2. Cf. Ibid., n. 16.
3. Cf. St. Irenaeus, Adv. Haereses, book III, c. III, n. 2.
4. C.A. Cum Praeexcelsa, February 28, 1476; Denz., n. 734.
5. Decree of the Sared Cong. of Rites; September 30, 1847.
6. This has been the constant care of the Popes, as is shown by
the condemnation of one of the propositions of Anthony de
Rosmini-Serbati (cf. Denzinger, nn. 1891-1930). This is how the 34th
proposition runs (Denzinger, n. 1924): "Ad praeservandam B. V.
Mariam a labe originis, satis erat, ut incorruptum maneret minimum
sesmen in homine, neglectum forte ab ipso demone, e quo incorrupto
semine de generatione in generationem transfuso, suo tempore oriretur
Virgo Maria." Decree of the Holy Office, December 14, 1887 (AAS 20,
393). Denz. n. 1924.
7. Apost. Const. Sollicitudo Omnium Ecclesiarum, December 8,
1661.
8. Apost. Const. Cum Praeexcelsa, February 28, 1476; Grave
Nemis, September 4, 1483; Denz., nn. 734, 735.
9. Apost. Const. Sanctissimus, September 12, 1617.
10. Apost. Const. Sanctissimus, June 4, 1622.
11. Alexander VIII, Apost. Const. Sollicitudo Omnium
Ecclesiarum, December 8, 1661.
12. Sess. V, Can. 6; Denz. n. 792. Declarat tamen haec ipsa
sancta Synodus, non esse suae intentionis, comprehendere in hoc
decreto, ubi de peccato originali agitur, beatam et immaculatam
Virginem Mariam Dei genitricem, sed observandas esse constitutiones
felicis recordationis Sixti Papae IV, sub poenis in eis
constitutionibus contentis, quas innovat.
13. Gn 3:15.
14. Quo circa sicut Christus Dei hominumque mediator, humana
assumpta natura, delens quod adversus nos erat chirographum decretia,
illud cruci triumphator affixit; sic Sanctissima Virgo, Arctissimo et
indissolubili vinculo cum eo conjuncta, una cum illo et per illum,
sempiternas contra venenosum serpentem inimicitias exercens, ac de
ipso plenissime triumphans, illus caput immaculato pede contrivit.
15. Cf. Gn. 6:9.
16. Cf. Gn 28:12.
17. Cf. Ex 3:2.
18. Cf. Sg 4:4.
19. Cf. Sg 4:12.
20. Cf. Ps 87:1.
21. Cf. Is 6:1-4.
22. Cf. Lk 1:28.
23. Ibid., 42.
24. Cf. St. Augustine: De Natura et Gratia, c. 36.
25. Gn 3:15.
26. Cf. Ex 31:2.
27. Cf. Ibid., n. 19ff.
28. Cf. Ibid., n. 27ff.