Festival of the Immaculate Conception

On December 8, Catholics celebrate the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary. At Fourvière, the people of Lyon commemorate in particular the installation of the gilded statue of the Virgin in 1852. On that day, a violent storm delayed the inauguration: the planned fireworks display was drowned and had to be cancelled. But as the weather calmed down, the Lyonnais spontaneously lit up the city with lanterns on their windowsills. This impromptu celebration took on a special lustre two years later when the dogma of the Immaculate Conception was proclaimed.

Celebrating December 8 at Notre-Dame de Fourvière

Let us entrust to Mary the beautiful Mission of the 8th and ask her to transform us into witnesses of hope.

Père Yves Guerpillon, rector of the Fourvière basilica