Pope Leo XIV addressed the faithful in St. Peter's Square on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. The Pope encouraged believers to emulate the faith of the Blessed Virgin Mary in accepting God's call. The feast celebrates Mary being preserved from original sin at her conception through God's grace. Pope Leo XIV stated that the faithful's daily 'yes' to God, through prayer and acts of love, allows Christ to be known and welcomed. He emphasized that Mary welcomed her mission with humility after being greeted by the Angel Gabriel.
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Pope Leo XIV delivered his Angelus address on December 8, 2025, from St. Peter's Square, marking the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.1 He urged the faithful to emulate the Virgin Mary's faith by saying "yes" to God's plan, emphasizing her preservation from original sin as a grace in anticipation of Christ's redemption.2 The Pope highlighted how Mary's humble response during the Annunciation—"Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord"—allowed divine grace to bear fruit for humanity.3
Drawing from St. Augustine, Pope Leo XIV explained that Mary's belief made possible what she believed, inviting believers to renew their own "yes" daily with gratitude and perseverance.1 He stressed that God offers great gifts freely, leaving individuals to accept or reject them, just as Mary embraced her mission.6 This assent, the Pope said, should manifest in prayer and acts of love, from extraordinary gestures to everyday service, enabling Christ to reach all people.2
The address connected Mary's unique grace to the universal gift of Baptism, where believers are cleansed from original sin and become temples of the Holy Spirit.3 Through Baptism, Christians can welcome Christ and collaborate in transforming the world, mirroring Mary's role in salvation history.5 Pope Leo XIV encouraged viewing the feast as a joyful invitation to active faith, benefiting all through shared belief.1
The feast of the Immaculate Conception originated in 5th-century Eastern monasteries, celebrating Mary's conception without original sin, formalized as dogma by Pope Pius IX in 1854.4 Its date, nine months before Mary's Nativity on September 8, ties to early Syrian traditions and gained prominence in the West through Byzantine influence.4 Medieval debates, particularly between Franciscans and Dominicans, preceded its declaration as a holy day of obligation in 1708.4
A notable historical event is the 1585 Miracle of Empel, where Spanish forces, inspired by an image of the Immaculate Conception, defeated Dutch rebels amid frozen floods, leading to her patronage over Spanish territories.4 In the U.S., bishops declared her patroness in 1846, linking to early consecrations and Spanish colonial heritage.4 Italian devotion, evident in family Christmas traditions and processions, influenced Pius IX's decision during his 1848 exile.4
Following the Angelus, Pope Leo XIV greeted groups like Italian Catholic Action and announced his afternoon visit to Rome's Piazza di Spagna.3 There, he continued a tradition started by Pope John XXIII in 1958, laying a wreath at the Column of the Immaculate Conception, erected in 1857 to honor the dogma.4 Firefighters placed flowers atop the 27-meter statue, symbolizing ongoing Marian veneration.1
In the U.S., President Donald Trump issued a statement recognizing the feast as a holy day special to Catholics, recounting Mary's fiat and her role in American history.5 He noted the 1792 consecration of the nation to the Immaculate Conception by Bishop John Carroll and devotion among saints like Elizabeth Ann Seton.5 The message concluded with the Hail Mary, underscoring Mary's enduring influence on faith and national identity.5
Pope Leo XIV entrusted global prayers for peace to Mary during the Angelus, linking her purity to hopes for world transformation.2 The feast's emphasis on freedom and grace resonates amid modern challenges, calling Catholics to active witness.6 Across sources, the event underscores unity in Marian devotion, from Vatican rituals to international acknowledgments, fostering renewed commitment to God's salvific plan.3
Immaculate Conception: source of faith, freedom, and baptismal grace
The dogma of the Immaculate Conception, proclaimed by Pope Pius IX in 1854, declares that Mary, the Mother of God, was preserved from original sin from the first moment of her conception by a singular grace from God in view of the merits of Jesus Christ. This profound truth not only honors Mary's unique role in salvation history but also illuminates key aspects of Christian life: it strengthens faith as the bedrock of our hope in redemption, offers a model of true freedom from sin's bondage, and underscores the transformative power of baptismal grace, which echoes Mary's sinless state in our own spiritual rebirth. Drawing from papal encyclicals and Church teachings, we see how this mystery interconnects with the core elements of our faith, inviting us to deeper union with Christ through His Mother.
At the heart of Catholic belief lies faith, described in Scripture as "the substance of things to be hoped for" (Hebrews 11:1). The Immaculate Conception serves as a powerful confirmation and arouser of this faith, revealing God's plan for humanity's restoration in Christ. Pope Pius X, in his encyclical Ad Diem Illum Laetissimum, explains that Mary's preservation from original sin directly bolsters our trust in divine promises: "our faith is confirmed and our hope aroused and strengthened by the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin." This dogma reminds us that Mary was kept free from sin precisely because she was to be the Mother of Christ, the Redeemer who renews the hope of eternal happiness in our souls.
This connection extends to the very foundations of faith. Tradition and Scripture, as sources of truth, show how the belief in Mary's Immaculate Conception aligns with the Catholic intuition that the flesh of Christ—holy and stainless—could not be formed in a womb tainted by sin, even momentarily. Pope Pius X emphasizes that this persuasion is "conformed to the Catholic mind and feeling," innate to the faithful soul, rejecting any notion that Mary, the serpent-crusher and Mother of God, could have been subject to the Evil One. Furthermore, Pope Leo XIII highlights Mary's role in obtaining the gift of faith itself: "none abounds in the knowledge of God except through thee; none... attains salvation except through thee." As the one who brought the "author of faith" into the world through her profound belief, Mary becomes the guardian of divine mysteries and the foundation—after Christ—for the edifice of faith across all centuries.
In an age prone to errors like Rationalism and Materialism, which deny original sin and humanity's fall, the Immaculate Conception uproots these threats by affirming the need for a Redeemer. It compels acknowledgment of Christ, the Church, grace, and the law of suffering, thereby protecting the entire structure of faith. Thus, celebrating this dogma fosters a fervor that unites mankind in Christ, making Mary the surest path to perfect adoption as sons of God.
The Immaculate Conception exemplifies the freedom that comes from being untainted by sin, offering a glimpse of the liberty God intends for all His children. Mary, "all fair" with no stain of original sin, stands as a beacon against the "great and serious errors" that undermine human dignity by rejecting sin's reality. Pope Pius X notes that enemies of religion begin by denying the fall, leading to the rejection of redemption and grace; but affirming Mary's sinlessness necessitates belief in original sin and Christ's rehabilitation of the human race. This truth destroys anarchic tendencies that repudiate Church authority, for it demands submission of intellect and will to divine order. In Mary, we see freedom not as license but as perfect obedience to God, crushing heresies and exalting the supernatural order.
This freedom is echoed in the Church's praise: "Thou art all fair, O Mary, and the stain of original sin is not in thee." Amid modern deluges of evil—blasphemy, lying, and moral decay—Mary rises like a rainbow, the "arbiter of peace between God and man," promising no more floods of destruction if we trust in her. Her virginal foot crushes the serpent's head, symbolizing victory over sin's enslavement. For believers, this dogma inspires a restoration of virtues, countering the vices of our time and fostering true liberty in Christ.
Baptismal grace, the life-giving fruit of the sacrament, directly parallels the graces bestowed on Mary, cleansing us from original sin and infusing us with divine life. The Catechism teaches that Baptism forgives original and personal sins, births us into new life as adoptive children of the Father, members of Christ, and temples of the Holy Spirit, incorporating us into the Church. This grace is the "gratuitous gift" of Christ's own life, healing and sanctifying the soul, received preeminently in Baptism.
Church tradition elaborates that Baptism not only remits sins but replenishes the soul with divine grace, rendering us just, children of God, and heirs to salvation—a "brilliant light" effacing stains and investing the soul with beauty. As St. Thomas Aquinas affirms, drawing from Scripture (Titus 3:5-6), Baptism infuses sanctifying grace, virtues, and the fullness flowing from Christ the Head to His members. The Catholic Encyclopedia reinforces this: Baptism confers supernatural grace, gifts, and virtues, making us adopted sons with a right to heavenly glory and special graces for fulfilling our vows. Even condemned errors, like those of Quesnel, underscore that Baptism's first effect is death to sin, freeing the spirit from its hold.
How does the Immaculate Conception tie into this? Mary's preservative grace anticipates the redemptive grace of Baptism, both rooted in Christ's merits. Just as Mary was exempted from original sin's stain from conception, Baptism washes it away, granting us a share in her purity. This connection highlights Mary's role in the "restoration of all things in Christ," where Baptism unites us to Him through her, making us "holy and immaculate in the sight of God." In infants, grace flows unimpeded; in adults, it requires disposition, but the sacrament's character endures indelibly. Thus, the Immaculate Conception illuminates Baptism as our path to freedom and sonship, with Mary as mediatrix of these graces.
The Immaculate Conception is no isolated doctrine but a vibrant source invigorating faith, exemplifying freedom from sin, and illuminating baptismal grace's transformative power. It confirms our hope in Christ's redemption, models liberty in obedience, and connects us to the sanctifying life poured forth in Baptism. As Pope Pius X hoped, may this truth draw the separated back to Christ and reignite devotion among the faithful, especially in turbulent times. By pondering Mary's sinless beauty, we are called to live out our baptismal dignity, trusting in her intercession to deepen our faith and embrace true freedom in God.