Ineffabilis Deus

Ineffabilis Deus (Latin for "Ineffable God") is an Apostolic constitution by Pope Pius IX. It defines the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The decree was promulgated on December 8, 1854, the date of the annual Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Mary's immaculate conception is one of only two pronouncements that were made ex cathedra and is therefore considered by the Catholic Church to be infallible through the extraordinary magisterium.

The decree surveys the history of the belief in Christian tradition, citing its roots in the long-standing feast of the Conception of Mary as a date of significance in the Eastern and Western churches. It also cites the approval of Catholic bishops worldwide who were asked in 1849 to offer their opinion on the matter.

The dogmatic statement is expressed near the end of the document:

"Mary's privilege ... was the result of God's grace and not of any intrinsic merit on her part", which is reflected in the decree. The 1964 Dogmatic Constiution, Lumen Gentium noted the view prevalent "...among the Fathers whereby they called the mother of God entirely holy and free from all stain of sin, as though fashioned by the Holy Spirit and formed as a new creature."

Immaculate Conception

The Immaculate Conception, according to the teaching of the Catholic Church, was the conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the womb of her mother, Saint Anne, free from original sin by virtue of the foreseen merits of her son Jesus Christ. The Catholic Church teaches that Mary was conceived by normal biological means, but God acted upon her soul (keeping her "immaculate") at the time of her conception.

The Immaculate Conception is commonly and mistakenly taken to mean the conception of Mary's son Jesus Christ in her own womb, and the Virgin Birth of Jesus. These are covered by the Doctrine of Incarnation, while the Immaculate Conception deals with the conception of Mary herself, not that of her son.

Although the belief that Mary was sinless and conceived immaculate has been widely held since Late Antiquity, the doctrine was not dogmatically defined until 1854, by Pope Pius IX in his papal bull Ineffabilis Deus. The Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on December 8; in many Catholic countries, it is a holy day of obligation or patronal feast, and in some a national public holiday.

Pope Pius IX

Pope Pius IX (Italian: Pio IX; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878), born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, reigned as Pope from 16 June 1846 to his death in 1878. He was the longest-reigning elected pope in the history of the Catholic Church – over 31 years (the longest serving, un-elected pope was Peter the Apostle, posthumously considered the first pope, who was confirmed by Christ in 33 AD and killed by Emperor Nero in 67 AD). During his pontificate, he convened the First Vatican Council (1869–70), which decreed papal infallibility, but the council was cut short due to the loss of the Papal States.

Pius IX defined the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, meaning that Mary was conceived without original sin. Pius IX also conferred the title Our Mother of Perpetual Help on a famous Byzantine icon from Crete entrusted to the Redemptorists.

He was also the last pope to rule as the Sovereign of the Papal States, which fell completely to the Italian army in 1870 and were incorporated into the Kingdom of Italy. After this, he was referred to – chiefly by himself – as the "Prisoner of the Vatican".