Rome just celebrated one of the biggest feast days on the liturgical calendar, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. With the streets and shops decked out for Christmas, this great feast day comes at an already festive time.
At 7 o'clock in the morning every year, on December 8, Roman firefighters are the first to pay tribute to the Blessed Virgin Mary. To do this, they place a wreath of flowers on the statue of her in the Piazza di Spagna, right by the Spanish Steps.
You need to take a few steps back to understand the Spanish background of this Roman holy day. Approved by the Church in 1854, the dogma of the Immaculate Conception was heavily supported by Catholics in Spain. So much so that it still bears a Spanish imprint today. The Immaculate Conception is the country’s patroness.
But the Pope has his own tradition for this day. Every year on this feast day, he visits the Spanish Steps to pray before the statue of Mary there.
Like the firefighters, the Pope also gifts flowers to the Blessed Virgin, placing a bouquet at the foot of the statue and offering prayers.
To conclude the gathering, Pope Leo met with sick crowd members. They join the Pope every year for this special occasion.
The column under the statue is almost 40 feet tall and was erected in 1857, three years after the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception by Pope Pius IX.
