The Immaculate Conception is the Catholic doctrine which says that Mary, the mother of Jesus , was conceived in the womb of her mother, Saint Anne, without original sin . The Catholic Church teaches this because they believe that Jesus, as God, had to be conceived in a mother whose soul was without any kind of sin , since God does not like sin. The Immaculate Conception became official Catholic teaching in 1854, announced by Pope Pius IX . Four years later, people claimed that Mary appeared to a girl named Bernadette in Lourdes , France , and that Mary told Bernadette: "I am the Immaculate Conception."

The Immaculate Conception does not mean the conception of Jesus in the womb of his mother Mary. This is correctly called the Incarnation .

The Feast of the Immaculate Conception is celebrated on December 8 each year.

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