Birth of the Virgin Mary

On 8 September each year, Catholic and Orthodox churches of the Byzantine tradition as well as the Anglican community celebrate the feast of the Nativity of Mary. They orientate themselves on the traditional consecration date of a church that was built in Jerusalem in the 5th century on the spot where Mary is said to have been born. This date is used as the basis for calculating the feast of the conception of the Mother of God nine months before 8 September (see Conception of Mary).

In all Christian churches, Mary plays an important role as the mother of God incarnate, as the ‘Mother of God.’ Typologically, she is placed in contrast to Eve, the first woman. While Eve brought sin into the world when, according to biblical tradition, she broke God's commandment and ate from the Tree of Knowledge in paradise, Mary declared her willingness to take upon herself the superhuman birth of the Son of God. This willingness is commemorated not only by the feast of the ‘Annunciation of the Lord,’ which is celebrated on 25 March but also by the so-called ‘Angelus prayer’, which the Catholic faithful should perform three times a day. The Pope in Rome performs it publicly every Sunday.