These images are from the year 2022. However, every December 8th, the pope visits the monument of the Immaculate Conception, located in Piazza di Spagna. There, he offers flowers and delivers a brief address to the Virgin.
POPE FRANCIS
I would have liked to bring you today the thanks of the Ukrainian people for the peace we have long been asking the Lord for.
This was one of the most emotional moments of Pope Francis’ pontificate.
However, it’s not random that this monument to Mary is located in this specific square. It was in 1854 when Pope Pius IX declared the Immaculate Conception of Mary a dogma of faith. Until then, there had been a major theological disputes on the topic.
Spain, unlike other countries, had always shown its support for the belief. That’s why Spanish priests have the privilege of wearing vestments of a special color every December 8th.
RAMÓN NAVARRO
Director of the Episcopal Commission for the Liturgy (CEE)
The blue. The blue because in Spain the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception was defended—what later became a defined dogma.
It’s a privilege we have, but only for the day of the Immaculate Conception, as a sign of gratitude to Spain for having defended the dogma of the Immaculate.
Meanwhile, countries like France and Germany expressed hesitation. They advocated for theological caution so as to not affect dialogue with the Eastern Churches.
However, it wasn’t just nations that were involved. Religious orders played a role too. The Franciscans supported the belief as early as the 14th century, about 500 years before it was proclaimed as dogma.
RAMÓN NAVARRO
Director of the Episcopal Commission for the Liturgy (CEE)
In fact, Spanish Franciscans went so far as to change their brown habit for a blue one. You can still find some statues and images of Saint Francis dressed in blue.
The Franciscans held that Mary was preserved from original sin from the very first moment of her conception, because she was to be the mother of Jesus.
However, the Dominicans opposed this. Their order maintained that the Virgin was sanctified after her conception, not from the first instant. Nevertheless, they later fully accepted the dogma.
AM
Trans. CRT
