''Ubi primum'' (Latin for "When first" or "As soon as," the opening words of the encyclical) 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 fr ...

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX (; born Giovanni Maria Battista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro Mastai-Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878. His reign of nearly 32 years is the longest verified of any pope in hist ...

to the bishops of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

asking them to ascertain the opinion of their flock on the definition of a

dogma Dogma, in its broadest sense, is any belief held definitively and without the possibility of reform. It may be in the form of an official system of principles or doctrines of a religion, such as Judaism, Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, or Islam ...

on the

Immaculate Conception The Immaculate Conception is the doctrine that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Mariology, Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Debated by medieval theologians, it was not def ...

of the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

. It was issued on February 2, 1849.

Background

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

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

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 archdioc ...

of Paris actively promoted the devotion of the

Miraculous Medal The Miraculous Medal (), also known as the Medal of Our Lady of Graces or the Medal of the Immaculate Conception, is a devotional medal, the design of which was originated by Catherine Labouré following her Marian apparition, apparitions of the ...

. 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: ''Litaniae lauretanae''), after its first-known place of origin, the Shrine of Our Lady of ...

, partly through the efforts of

Antonio Rosmini Antonio Francesco Davide Ambrogio Rosmini-Serbati, IC (; 25 March 17971 July 1855) was an Italian Catholic priest and philosopher. He founded the Rosminians, officially the Institute of Charity, and pioneered the concept of social justice an ...

, 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 A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...

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. The title "Ubi primum" derives from the opening words of the encyclical ("When first" or "As soon as"; or in Latin, "''Ubi primum''")

Content

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

Pope Gregory XVI Pope Gregory 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 June 1846. He had adopted the name Mauro upon enteri ...

, 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, la, Ineffabilis Deus, Ineffable God is an apostolic constitution by Pope Pius IX.''Ineffabili ...

'', which defined the dogma of the

. In April 1850, Dom Prosper Guéranger, 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 (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...

in 1946, when in '' Deiparae Virginis Mariae'', 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 on 1 November 1950 in his apostolic constitution as follows: It leaves open the question of whether Mary died or whether she was ra ...

Notes

External links

Text of ''Ubi Primum''
{{Authority control Papal encyclicals Pope Pius IX Mariology Documents of Pope Pius IX 1849 documents 1849 in Christianity February 1849

Background

Development

Content

See also

Notes

External links