In addition to the feast of the Immaculate Conception December 8 marks

• the canonical establishment of the Confraternity of Charity– 1617, forerunner of the Ladies of Charity;
• one of the four major feasts chosen by the Society of St. Vincent DePaul in 1834 and
• the day on which many groups of the Sisters of Charity renew their vows.

It also marks the publication (1975) of the Paul VI’s exhortation to announce the Good News (Evangelii Nuntiandi)