Pope Benedict Celebrates the Feast of the Immaculate Conception

(08 Dec 08 - RV) Pope Benedict the XVI celebrated the feast of the Immaculate Conception today saying it was an occasion for us all to rejoice in the radiant purity of the Mother of our Redeemer. He also noted that the feast fell on the concluding day of celebrations to mark the 150 th anniversary of the apparitions at Lourdes and said that in Mary we see God’s smile and in her we find hope even in the midst of all the problems and drama’s in the world.The Holy Father was speaking at the Spanish Steps to mark the feast and lay a floral tribute at the feet of a Pillar bearing a statue of the Immaculate which has watched over the city of Rome for over 150 years: Emer McCarthy has this report:

For 150 years she has watched over our City from the top of this pillar….assuring us of her help and motherly protection.
Those were the words spoken by Pope Benedict two years ago now as he laid a basket of pink roses at the feet of a marble pillar, crowned by a statue of the virgin Mary.
That pillar stands in Piazza di Spagna or Spainish Steps, a landmark square nestled in to the heart of Rome’s bustling centre.
Every year since it was first erected, by Pope Pius IX in far off 1854, Romans have flocked to Our Lady’s feet, laying their floral tribute in a feast that has become synonymous for many with the beginning of the Christmas season.
Every year since his election Pope Benedict has come to pay tribute and speak to the faithful of his diocese, the diocese of Rome, and watch as the city’s firemen clamber up the pillar metre by metre to crown Mary with a wreath of flowers.
It is an imbedded tradition for Roman families to make their way to Mary, wrapped warm in the winter cold, under the Christmas lights of the upmarket shops. As tourists, many bewildered to find the city at a standstill and closed for this feast day, asks themselves what it all means?:
Abbot Timothy Wright brings us back to the heart of this day and its place in the mystery of our salvation:
For over 150 years, said Pope Benedict, she has watched over Rome to offer to all who live in here, pilgrims and tourists, an opportunity, despite the diversity of cultures, to feel they are one family gathered around a Mother who has shared the daily efforts of every woman and mother of a family.