Solemnity of the Annunication

The Solemnity of the Annunciation (March 25) celebrates the announcement from the angel Gabriel to Mary that she would conceive and give birth to Jesus (Luke 1:26-38). It is celebrated nine months before Christmas.

The Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord celebrated on March 25 each year is impeded by Monday of Holy Week in 2024.  According to the Universal Norms on the Liturgical Year and Calendar no. 60, the Annunciation is therefore transferred to Monday of the Second Week of Easter, in this case, April 8, 2024.

Devotions surrounding the Immaculate Heart of Mary predate but were especially popularized in 17th – 19th century France, and then again through Marian apparitions in Fatima, Portugal in 1917. Pope Francis and previous popes have led various consecrations to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, including Pope St. John Paul II’s consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on March 25, 1984.