| 8 December |
• yesterday • tomorrow |
| Solemnity of The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary |
• Immaculate Conception of Mary
• Mary, the Immaculate Conception
• Nossa Senhora da Conceição
• Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception
The Blessed Virgin Mary was preserved from the stain of original sin in the first instant of her conception in the womb of her mother. This was a singular privilege and grace of God, granted in view of the merits of Jesus Christ. By her conception is meant not the act or part of her parents in it, nor the formation of her body, nor the conception of Christ later in her own womb; from the moment her soul was created and infused into her body, it was free from original sin and filled with sanctifying grace. Her soul was never stained by original sin, nor by the depraved emotions, passions, and weaknesses consequent on that sin, but created in a state of original sanctity, innocence, and justice. She had at least the graces of the first Eve before the Fall and more. This privilege was befitting the one who was to be mother of the Redeemer.
The doctrine was defined by Blessed Pope Pius IX, 8 December 1854. It is in accord with the texts of Scripture (Genesis 3), "I will put enmities between thee [the serpent] and the woman, and thy seed and her seed"; (Luke 1), "Hail, full of grace." It is established by tradition, by the writings of the Fathers, by feasts observed in honour of this prerogative, by the general belief of the faithful. The very controversies over it among theologians brought about a clear understanding and acceptance of the doctrine long before it was declared by Blessed Pope Pius IX. After the declaration, some Protestant writers denounced what they styled Mariolatry (idolatry of Mary). However, there is a constantly-growing devotion among Catholics, and respect among some Protestant groups for the prerogatives of the Mother of Our Redeemer.
Among the many masters who have represented the Immaculate Conception in art are: Carducci, Carreno de Miranda, Falco, Holbein, Montanes, Muller, Murillo, Reni, Ribera, and Signorelli. It is the title she used when appearing at Lourdes.
The feast originated in the East about the 8th century where it was celebrated on 9 December. In the Western Church it appeared first in England in the 11th century and was included in the calendar of the universal Church in the 14th century. It has a vigil and an octave, and is a holy day of obligation in the United States, Ireland, and Scotland.
• barrel makers, coopers
• cloth makers
• cloth workers
• soldiers of the United States
• Spanish infantry
• tapestry workers
• upholsterers
• Argentina
• Brazil
• Congo
• Equatorial Guinea
• Guam
• Nicaragua
• Panama
• Portugal
• Tanzania
• Tunisia
• United States
• 68 dioceses
• 8 cities
https://catholicsaints.info/feast-of-the-immaculate-conception/
• 16 March - Jesuits
• 26 September - as one of the Martyrs of North America
Son of a notary, and one of four children. Entered the Jesuit novitiate in Toulouse, France on 8 February 1630. College teacher in Toulouse from 1632 to 1639. Ordained in 1641. Taught rhetoric at the college of Rodez. Noel, like many other Jesuits, felt a call to missionary work. Missionary to the Hurons in New France in 1643, arriving in Quebec on 15 August.
Father Noel had terrible trouble adapting to the mission fields. He could not grasp the languages of the natives, hated the food, never became comfortable with the living conditions, and was going through a period of spiritual dryness and trial. Deciding to go completely on faith, he vowed before the Blessed Sacrament that if necessary he would spend the rest of his life at the work. He survived a massacre of Christian Hurons by pagan Iroquois, and was leading a group of survivors to safety when he was murdered by an apostate Huron. One of the Martyrs of North America.
2 February 1613 at Saugues, France
8 December 1649 on a trail near Saint Jean, Ontario, Canada
29 June 1930 by Pope Pius XI
I am going where obedience calls me, but whether I stay there or receive permission from my superior to return to the mission where I belong, I must serve God faithfully until death. - Saint Noel to his superiors on the day of his death
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-noel-chabanel/
Daughter of Pedro Martillo Mosquera and Josefina Moran. Her people were farmers, and her parents died when she was still a child. She moved to Guayaquil, Ecuador where for the next 15 years she worked as a seamstress to support her younger siblings, living a single life, helping those even poorer than herself when she could, and spending her time in prayer. In 1868 she moved to Lima, Peru where she worked in a convent of Dominican nuns. She never took vows and remained a lay person her whole life, but spent eight hours a day in prayer, lived as austerely as any sister, and was known to experience ecstasies.
29 October 1832 at Nobol, Guayas, Ecuador
• 8 December 1869 at Lima, Peru of natural causes
• re-interred at Guayaquil, Ecuador in 1955
Sunday 12 October 2008 by Pope Benedict XVI
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-narcisa-de-jesus-martillo-moran/
First bishop of Trier, Germany. A basilica was built over his tomb in the catacomb of Saint Matthias.
Legend says that he was one of the 72 disciples of Christ, and that he was sent to Gaul as its first bishop in the 1st century. There, one of his companions, Maternus, died. Eucharius returned to Saint Peter the Apostle, borrowed his pastoral staff, returned to Gaul, touched Maternus with the staff, and brought him back to life.
relics in the crypt in the Basilica of Saint Matthias, Trier, Germany, and in Lisbon, Portugal
• against plague
• Trier, Germany
• bishop holding the Cathedral of Trier
• bishop with a dragon
• bishop with a dog
• bishop with pallium
• bishop with a demon
• bishop with Venus
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-eucharius-of-trier/
Romaricus
Merovingian noble, Lord of Austrasia, and part of the court of King Clotaire II. Married layman. Converted by Saint Amatus. Monk at Luxeuil Abbey in Burgundy (in modern France). Founded the convent and monastery of Habendum at Remiremont (Romarici mons) and served as prior with Amatus as abbot. Romaricus became abbot in 623, a position he held 30 years. His two daughters, a grandson and a granddaughter all joined the houses under his leadership. Friend of Saint Arnulf of Metz. He died while on a mission to the Frankish court to petition for Dagobert to receive the crown.
• 653 of natural causes
• relics enshrined at the altar of Remiremont in 1051
• church and relics destroyed in the French Revolution
1051 by Pope Leo IX
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-romaric/
Eutychianus
He was the 27th pope, but very little is known about him. Legend says he buried 324 martyrs with his own hands, but he reigned in a quiet period of no state persecution, so this is questionable. Another legend credits him with developing the blessings of fields and crops, but this came later. Some documents call him a martyr, but there are no contemporary records to back it up.
• Etruria or Tuscany (both in modern Italy)
4 January 275
7 December 283
https://catholicsaints.info/pope-saint-eutychian/
Member of the Society of the Divine Word. Priest. One of the 108 Martyrs of World War II.
23 January 1898 in Winów, Opolskie, Poland
martyred on 8 December 1942 in the concentration camp at Dachau, Oberbayern, Germany
• 13 June 1999 by Pope John Paul II
• recognition celebrated at Warsaw, Poland
https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-alojzy-liguda/
Theobald, Thibaut
Born to the French nobility, he renounced the worldly life and property to become a Cistercian monk. Abbot of Vaux-de-Cernay monastery in Yvelines, France, a house with 200 monks, in 1235. Known as the humblest of the brothers.
1247 of natural causes
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-thibaud-de-marly/
• Patapius of Thebes
• Patapius of Egypt
• Patapios...
Desert monk near Thebes, Egypt. Hermit outside the city walls of Constantinople. His reputation for holiness attraced a number of monks an other students, who then provided help to the poor, sick and needy of the area.
Egypt
7th century of natural causes
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-patapius/
Benedictine Cistercian nun the convent of Saint Benedict at Cáceres, western Spain when still very young; she spent almost her entire life in the convent. Abbess.
14th century Spain
murdered in front of the convent chapal altar by marauding soldiers on 8 December 1383 in Cáceres, Spain
https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-johanna-of-caceres/
Cunihilt, Cynehild, Cynehildis, Gunthild
Nun. At the request of Saint Boniface, she travelled to Germany to become abbess of a convent in Thuringia. Inspector of all the schools that had been established in Germany by English nuns.
at Wimborne, England
c.748
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-gunthildis-of-ohrdruf/
Cazarie, Gosaria
Hermitess in the area of Avignon, France near where the Abbey Saint-André-de-Villeneuve was founded.
• 586 of natural causes
• relics in the Abbey Saint-André-de-Villeneuve
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-casari-of-villeneuve-les-avignon/
Married layman in the archdiocese of Valencia, Spain. Martyred in the Spanish Civil War.
19 March 1898 in Valencia, Spain
8 December 1936 in Picadero de Paterna, Valencia, Spain
11 March 2001 by Pope John Paul II
https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-jose-maria-zabal-blasco/
Layman martyr in the apostolic vicariate of Korea.
1751 in Jinsan, Jeolla-do, South Korea
8 December 1791 in Jeonju, Jeolla-do, South Korea
15 August 2014 by Pope Francis
https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-iacobus-gwon-sang-yeon/
Layman martyr in the apostolic vicariate of Korea.
1759 in Jinsan, Jeolla-do, South Korea
8 December 1791 in Jeonju, Jeolla-do, South Korea
15 August 2014 by Pope Francis
https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-paulus-yun-ji-chung/
During the persecutions of Decius he was dragged before a judge who tried to reason him into rejecting Christianty; it didn't work. Martyr.
burned alive in Alexandria, Egypt mid-3rd century
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-macarius-of-alexandria/
May have been a 6th century bishop on Cyprus, but the records of the period are all lost and all we know for certain is that his name has remained on the calendar.
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-sofronius-of-cyprus/
Martyred in the persecutions of the Arian Vandal king Hunneric.
burned alive in the late 5th century
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-anthusa-of-africa/
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