''Ubi primum'' is an

encyclical An encyclical was originally a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Roman Church. At that time, the word could be used for a letter sent out by any bishop. The word comes from the Late Latin (originally from ...

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX ( it, Pio IX, ''Pio Nono''; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican ...

to the bishops of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

asking them for opinion on the definition of a

dogma Dogma is a belief or set of beliefs that is accepted by the members of a group without being questioned or doubted. It may be in the form of an official system of principles or doctrines of a religion, such as Roman Catholicism, Judaism, Islam ...

on the

Immaculate Conception The Immaculate Conception is the belief that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church, meaning that it is held to be a divinely revealed truth w ...

of the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...

. It was issued on February 2, 1849.

Background

In the 19th century, there was an increase in veneration of Mary under the title "

Immaculata The Immaculate Conception is the belief that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church, meaning that it is held to be a divinely revealed truth wh ...

". In

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Archbishop de Quélen In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

of Paris actively promoted the devotion of the

Miraculous Medal The Miraculous Medal (french: Médaille miraculeuse), also known as the Medal of Our Lady of Graces, is a devotional medal, the design of which was originated by Catherine Labouré following her apparitions of the Blessed Virgin MaryAnn Ball, 20 ...

. In 1843 the title "Queen conceived without original sin" was added to the

Litany of Loreto The Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a Marian litany originally approved in 1587 by Pope Sixtus V. It is also known as the Litany of Loreto (Latin: ''Litaniæ lauretanæ''), after its first-known place of origin, the Shrine of Our Lady of Lor ...

, partly through the efforts of

Antonio Rosmini Blessed Antonio Francesco Davide Ambrogio Rosmini-Serbati (; Rovereto, 25 March 1797Stresa, 1 July 1855) was an Italian Roman Catholic priest and philosopher. He founded the Rosminians, officially the Institute of Charity or , pioneered the ...

, founder of the Institute of Charity. That same year, the twenty-three bishops present at the Sixth Provincial Council of Baltimore chose "Mary conceived without sin" as the patron saint of the United States.

Development

In 1848 Pius IX established a commission of theologians, to study the subject and report their opinion. Rosmini, who served as a consultor on the commission, suggested that the Holy See should solicit views from the whole of Church through an encyclical to the bishops. ''Ubi primum'' seeks the opinions of the bishops on the question.

Content

Pius begins by acknowledging the numerous requests received by both his predecessor,

Pope Gregory XVI Pope Gregory XVI ( la, Gregorius XVI; it, Gregorio XVI; born Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari; 18 September 1765 – 1 June 1846) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1831 to his death in 1 June 1846. He h ...

, as well as himself for a declaration of the dogma.

We eagerly desire, furthermore, that, as soon as possible, you apprise Us concerning the devotion which animates your clergy and your people regarding the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin and how ardently glows the desire that this doctrine be defined by the Apostolic See. And especially, Venerable Brethren, We wish to know what you yourselves, in your wise judgment, think and desire on this matter.Pope Pius IX, "Ubi primum", February 2, 1849, PapalEncyclicals.net
/ref>

Over 600 bishops responded, almost all favorably. The positive response to ''Ubi primum'' led to the 1854 bull ''

Ineffabilis Deus ( for, , Latin, Ineffable God) is an apostolic constitution by Pope Pius IX.''Ineffabilis Deus''

'', which defined the dogma of the

. In April 1850,

Dom Prosper Guéranger Dom or DOM may refer to: People and fictional characters * Dom (given name), including fictional characters * Dom (surname) * Dom La Nena (born 1989), stage name of Brazilian-born cellist, singer and songwriter Dominique Pinto * Dom people, an ethn ...

, abbot of St. Peter's Abbey, Solesmes, published ''Mémoire sur l'Immaculée Conception'' demonstrating why belief in the Immaculate Conception might be the object of a dogmatic definition."Abbey Republishes a Work That Was Key for Proclamation of Dogma", ''Zenit'', December 9, 2004
/ref> This approach was quoted by

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...

in 1946, when in ''

Deiparae Virginis Mariae ''Deiparae Virginis Mariae'' (Latin for "Virgin Mary Mother of God"), is an encyclical of Pope Pius XII released in 1946 addressed to all Catholic bishops on the possibility of defining the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary as a dogma of faith ...

'', he inquired from the bishops about a possible dogma of the

Assumption of the Virgin Mary The Assumption of Mary is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII defined it in 1950 in his apostolic constitution ''Munificentissimus Deus'' as follows: We proclaim and define it to be a dogma revealed by Go ...

Notes

External links

''Ubi Primum''

*

, Mariological encyclicals and bulls **
Encyclical ''Fulgens corona'' on the Vatican website
*

**

' ** ttps://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xii/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xii_enc_15091951_ingruentium-malorum_en.html Encyclical ''Ingruentium malorum '' on the Vatican website*
Papal Bull ''Ineffabilis Deus'' on Google Books
{{Authority control Papal encyclicals Catholic Mariology Pope Pius IX Mariology Documents of Pope Pius IX 1849 documents 1849 in Christianity February 1849 events

Background

Development

Content

See also

Notes

External links