Joshua Bennett
Marian feast days are celebrated in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The number of feast days, their names, and dates vary among Christian denominations. The earliest Marian feast days grew out of the cycle of feasts that celebrate the Nativity of Jesus Christ. The Marian Calendar, first published during the childhood of King Louis XIV of France, is a collection of famous pilgrimage sites dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The most prominent Marian feast days in the General Roman Calendar include the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary (also known as the Feast of Our Lady of Victory) on October 7th, Saint Mary Major on August 5th, and the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary on August 15th.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Month of Mary | May |
| Month of the Rosary | October |
| Feast of the Immaculate Heart | Saturday following the Second Sunday after Pentecost |
| Feast of Our Lady of Victory | October 7 |
| Saint Mary Major | August 5 |
| The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary | August 15 |
| The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary | September 8 |
| The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary | November 21 |
| The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary | December 8 |
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What You'll Learn
Feast of the Immaculate Conception
The Feast of the Immaculate Conception, also known as the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, is a Catholic feast celebrating the conception of Mary, the Mother of God, without sin. It is one of the most important Marian feast days in the liturgical calendar of the Latin Church. The Immaculate Conception refers to the conception of Mary in the womb of her mother, Saint Anne, free from the stain of original sin, by a unique gift of grace from God and in view of the merits of Jesus Christ.
The Feast of the Immaculate Conception is celebrated annually on December 8, nine months before the feast of the Nativity of Mary on September 8. If December 8 falls on a Sunday during the liturgical season of Advent, the solemnity is transferred to the following Monday, December 9. The feast day is a Holy Day of Obligation, during which the faithful are obliged to attend Mass.
The origins of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception can be traced back to the 5th century in the Eastern Church, which celebrated a Feast of the Conception of the Most Holy and All Pure Mother of God on December 9. By the 7th century, the feast was widely known in the East, and Mary was referred to as "immaculate" in the Acta of the Third Council of Constantinople. The feast associated with her immaculate conception was translated to the Western Church in the 8th century and was initially celebrated on December 8.
In 1854, Pope Pius IX formally defined the Immaculate Conception as a Catholic dogma, declaring that Mary was preserved free from all stains of original sin from the very first moment of her conception. This proclamation was made in the Apostolic Constitution "Ineffabilis Deus". Prior to this, most missals referred to the feast as the Feast of the Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and some disputed the description of Mary's conception as "immaculate".
The Feast of the Immaculate Conception is a significant day of celebration in many Catholic countries, with Masses, parades, fireworks, processions, food, and cultural festivities honouring the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is also designated as the patronal feast day of several countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Italy, Korea, and the United States.
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Feast of Our Lady of Victory
The Feast of Our Lady of Victory, also known as the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, is a Catholic feast day commemorating the victory of the combined fleet of the Holy League over the Ottoman navy at the Battle of Lepanto on 7 October 1571. The feast day was instituted by Pope Pius V in the same year and was originally celebrated on the first Sunday of October. In 1573, Pope Gregory XIII changed the name of the feast to the Feast of the Holy Rosary and moved the date to 7 October. This date was chosen to mark the anniversary of the victory at Lepanto.
The Battle of Lepanto was a pivotal moment in European history, as it halted the Ottoman advance into Western Europe and confined their naval power to the eastern Mediterranean. Pope Pius V is said to have attributed the victory to the Blessed Virgin Mary and instituted the feast day in her honour. The Rosary is a significant aspect of this feast day, as Pope Pius V had called for all of Europe to pray the Rosary for victory during the battle.
Over time, the feast day has been celebrated on different dates and with different names in various churches. In the Diocese of Marsi, Italy, it is observed on the last Sunday of September to commemorate the victory of Charles of Anjou over Conradin at Tagliocozzo in 1268. In the Western Rite Vicariate of the Antiochian Orthodox Church, it is celebrated on 7 October under the title "The Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary".
The Feast of Our Lady of Victory is particularly significant in France and Spain. In 1620, King Louis XIII vowed to build a church in honour of the Blessed Virgin if his troops succeeded in ousting the Protestants (Huguenots) from La Rochelle. After their victory in 1628, he laid the first stone of the church, dedicating it to Our Lady of Victories. This church became a site of devotion, attracting figures such as Blessed John Henry Newman and St Thérèse of Lisieux. In Spain, the Diocese of Malaga celebrates Our Lady of Victory as their patroness on 8 September.
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Feast of the Assumption
The Feast of the Assumption, also known as the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is a significant feast day for Catholics and many other Christians. It is celebrated on 15 August and is a Holy Day of Obligation for both Roman and Eastern-rite Catholics, meaning they are obliged to attend Mass or Divine Liturgy. The feast celebrates the spiritual and physical departure of Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, from the earth and her assumption, body and soul, into heaven.
The assumption of Mary is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. The dogma was proclaimed by Pope Pius XII in 1950, based on a message communicated to him by the Marian seer Gilles Bouhours, who reported a vision of the Virgin Mary. According to the dogma, Mary was assumed bodily into heaven, either after her natural death (mortalistic interpretation) or without first dying (immortalistic interpretation).
The Feast of the Assumption is often referred to simply as St. Mary's Day or the Dormition, which means "falling asleep". The Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholics celebrate the Dormition of the Mother of God on the same date, preceded by a 14-day fasting period similar to Lent. The Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission released a non-authoritative declaration in 2004, the "Seattle Statement", which concluded that the teachings of the Assumption and the Immaculate Conception are "consonant with the teaching of the Scriptures as a whole".
The celebration of the Feast of the Assumption varies among different Christian denominations. The Lutheran Church retained the feast after the Reformation, and it is celebrated as a lesser festival named "Mary, Mother of Our Lord". Within Anglicanism, the feast is accepted by some and rejected by others, or regarded as adiaphora ("a thing indifferent"). It is observed under various titles, such as the Feast of Saint Mary the Virgin or the Falling Asleep of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
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Feast of the Purification
The Feast of the Purification, also called the Purification of the Blessed Virgin, the Feast of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple, or Candlemas, is one of the oldest feasts of the church. It is celebrated on February 2, the 40th day after the birth of Christ, and marks the conclusion of the Christmas-Epiphany season.
The Feast of the Purification commemorates Mary's purification in the temple of Jerusalem in fulfilment of the Mosaic Law, which required the cleansing of a woman from the ritual impurity incurred at childbirth. According to Leviticus 12, a woman was to be purified by presenting a lamb as a burnt offering, and either a young pigeon or dove as a sin offering, 33 days after a boy's circumcision. For a female child, the time which excluded the mother from the sanctuary was doubled to 80 days. Mary complied with this precept of the law, and was purified by the prayer of Simeon the just, in the presence of Anna the prophetess.
The pilgrim Egeria recorded how the Feast of the Purification was celebrated in Jerusalem in the 380s:
> But certainly the Feast of the Purification is celebrated here with the greatest honour. On this day there is a procession to the Anastasis; all go in procession, and all things are done in order with great joy, just as at Easter. All the priests preach, and also the bishop, always treating of that passage of the Gospel where, on the fortieth day, Joseph and Mary brought the Lord into the Temple, and Simeon and Anna the prophetess, the daughter of Famuhel, saw Him, and of the words which they said when they saw the Lord, and of the offerings which the parents presented. And when all things have been celebrated in order as is customary, the sacrament is administered, and so the people are dismissed.
In some Christian countries, it is customary to remove Christmas decorations after Candlemas. On this day, many Christians, especially Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and some mainline Protestant denominations, take their candles to their local church, where they are blessed and then used for the rest of the year. These blessed candles serve as a symbol of Jesus Christ, who is referred to as the Light of the World.
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Feast of the Immaculate Heart
The Feast of the Immaculate Heart is a devotional name used to refer to the interior life of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It celebrates her joys and sorrows, her virtues and hidden perfections, and above all, her virginal love for God the Father, her maternal love for her son Jesus, and her compassionate love for all people.
The devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary is connected to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. While the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is directed towards the "Divine Heart", overflowing with love for humanity, the devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary is drawn to the love of her Immaculate Heart for Jesus and God.
The history of devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary dates back to the Middle Ages with Anselm of Canterbury and Bernard of Clairvaux. In 1643, John Eudes and his followers observed February 8 as the Feast of the Heart of Mary. In 1799, Pius VI granted the Bishop of Palermo the feast of the Most Pure Heart of Mary for some churches in his diocese. In 1805, Pope Pius VII allowed a feast to honour the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and it soon became widely observed.
In 1944, Pope Pius XII instituted the universal feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, to be celebrated annually on August 22, coinciding with the octave day of the Assumption. However, in 1969, Pope Paul VI moved the celebration to the Saturday after the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which is the third Saturday after Pentecost.
The month of August is traditionally dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and traditional depictions of her Immaculate Heart show it pierced by seven swords or wounds, referencing the seven major sorrows experienced by the Virgin Mary throughout her life, especially during the Passion of Christ.
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Frequently asked questions
Marian feast days are celebrated in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The number of feast days, their names, and their dates can vary among Christian denominations. Some of the feast days include:
- November 21: Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
- December 8: Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
- August 15: The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The earliest feasts that relate to Mary grew out of the cycle of feasts that celebrate the Nativity of Jesus Christ. By the 5th century, the Feast of the Purification was being celebrated, based on the Gospel of Luke, which states that 40 days after the birth of Jesus, Mary was purified according to Jewish customs.
The purpose of the Marian feast days is to venerate the Mother of God and to celebrate her actions on behalf of Catholics of all nations and kingdoms throughout the ages.
