CCC 491

Through the centuries the Church has become ever more aware that Mary, "full of grace" through God,¹³⁴ Lk 1:28. was redeemed from the moment of her conception. That is what the dogma of the Immaculate Conception confesses, as Pope Pius IX proclaimed in 1854:

The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Saviour of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin.¹³⁵ Pius IX, Ineffabilis Deus (1854): DS 2803DS — Denzinger–Schönmetzer (Enchiridion Symbolorum).