On December 8, 1854, Pope Pius IX proclaimed the dogma of the Immaculate Conception in the apostolic constitution Ineffabilis Deus.

A little more than three years later, on February 11, 1858, a young lady appeared to Bernadette Soubirous. T

his began a series of visions. During the apparition on March 25, the lady identified herself with the words: “I am the Immaculate Conception.”