December 8th is a holiday for countries in South America. It goes by various names, but our ECELA schools will either be celebrating the Día de la Virgen María (Day of the Virgin Mary) or the Día de la Inmaculada Concepción de María (Day of the Immaculate Conception of Mary). Here is a brief history in both Spanish and English.
Cada 8 de diciembre, la Iglesia celebra el dogma de fe que nos revela que, por la gracia de Dios, la Virgen María fue preservada del pecado desde el momento de su concepción, es decir desde el instante en que María comenzó la vida humana.
El 8 de diciembre de 1854, en su bula Ineffabilis Deus, el Papa Pío IX proclamó este dogma:
“…declaramos, proclamamos y definimos que la doctrina que sostiene que la beatísima Virgen María fue preservada inmune de toda mancha de la culpa original en el primer instante de su concepción por singular gracia y privilegio de Dios omnipotente, en atención a los méritos de Cristo Jesús Salvador del género humano, está revelada por Dios y debe ser por tanto firme y constantemente creída por todos los fieles…”
(Pío IX, Bula Ineffabilis Deus, 8 de diciembre de 1854)
Every December 8th, the (Catholic) church celebrates the belief that, by the grace of God, the Virgin Mary was held to be without sin since her conception, which is to say when she began her human life.
On December 8th, 1854, in the papal bull “Ineffabilis Deus”, Pope Pius IX proclaimed this belief:
“…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.”
Ask our staff questions about this holiday! Send me an e-mail with your question(s) at blog@ecela.com and I will pass them along to get them answered! It’s different in each of the three countries in which our schools are located so answers may vary!