Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception - Ny

This parish church is a neo-Gothic building and has a 17th-century tower with a carved capital from 1557. The church is surrounded by numerous fountains.

The church is dedicated to Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. The Immaculate Conception of Mary is a dogma (not promulgated until December 1854 !) of the Catholic Church, which states that Mary was conceived and came into the world without being tainted by original sin . This special status of Mary is celebrated with a solemn feast on December 8th, nine months before the feast of the Nativity of Mary on September 8th.

Mary was conceived with an immaculate soul in her mother's womb, according to tradition she is Anna. The cleansing effect of the future redemption through His Son, Jesus Christ , was already applied to His soul by God . According to Catholic teaching, Mary's special election meant that she is the only person in all of history whose soul has never been stained with any sin, not even original sin .

As confirmation of this dogma, Catholics see the fact that in Lourdes on March 25, 1858, the feast day of the conception of Jesus in her own womb, Mary identified herself to Bernadette Soubirous with the words: "I am the Immaculate Conception".

Since the Immaculate Conception is not specifically mentioned in the Bible, this teaching is rejected by the Protestant Churches, the Old Catholic Church, and the Eastern Orthodox Churches.

The dogma of the Immaculate Conception is often confused with another dogma : that of Mary's virginity, which refers to the birth of Jesus without a prior relationship with her husband.

Willem Vandenameele