Ad Diem Illum Laetissimum: On the Jubilee of the Immaculate Conception

by Pope Pius X

On the 50th anniversary of the solemn promulgation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception (1854-1904), Pope St. Pius X issued this encyclical to encourage the whole Church to organize joyous celebrations, and to grant a Jubilee Indulgence in honor of this event. The pope ultimately hoped by doing this to gain that restoration of all things in Christ which is the motto of his pontificate. In this encyclical, he outlines the great riches and the wonderful hidden implications behind the dogma of the Immaculate Conception: Mary is the Reparatrix; Dispensatrix of all grace; our chief Mediatrix; our supreme example of sanctity. She continues to labor in Heaven in order to bring us to perfect charity of God and to eternal happiness. The pope insists on our corresponding response in faith, hope and charity—of keeping the commandments and fleeing from sin, of praying for those who are fallen away. By proclaiming the dogma we combat all the Modernist errors, proving what the Church attributes to this august Virgin, that she has exterminated all heresies in the world.

Genres: Catholic

23 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1999

About the author

Pope Saint Pius X (Ecclesiastical Latin: Pius PP. X), born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, was the 257th Pope of the Catholic Church, serving from 1903 to 1914. He was the first pope since Pope Pius V to be canonized. Pius X rejected modernist interpretations of Catholic doctrine, promoting traditional devotional practices and orthodox theology. His most important reform was to publish the first Code of Canon Law, which collected the laws of the Church into one volume for the first time. Frequent communion was a lasting innovation of his papacy.