Important Dates in the Lives of Jesus and Mary 

of life since her Immaculate Conception. And, at the Virgin Conception of Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary had 

completed over 15 years of life since her Immaculate Conception. 

    In another place, when speaking about the Birth of Christ, Blessed Anne Catherine says that the Virgin 

Mary was conceived 15 years before the Birth of Christ.

508

 But if Mary was conceived 15 years before Christ's 

Birth, then she would have been born just over 14 years before Christ's birth, and she would have been about 

13 years old at the Incarnation of Christ. Blessed Anne Catherine here contradicts what she herself said at 

another time, that Mary was just over 14 years old at the Incarnation. She tells us, in discussing the star of 

Jacob, that the three wise men had first seen this indication of the future Birth of Christ, 15 years before Christ 

was born. When speaking about the star, she then mentions that the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin 

Mary occurred at that time, 15 years earlier than Christ's birth. This must be a slight confusion on her part. 

She usually gives dates and ages in the lives of Jesus and Mary counting from birth. So, she may have 

inadvertently given the number of years from Mary's Birth to Christ's Birth, or Mary's Immaculate 

Conception to Christ's Holy Conception (in either case, about 15 years), when she was speaking about the 

number of years from Mary's Immaculate Conception to Christ's Birth (about 16 years). 

The Month and Day of the Immaculate Conception 

    The Church currently celebrates the Immaculate Conception on Dec. 8 and the Virgin Mary's birthday on 

Sept. 8. The celebration of Mary's Birth, in the liturgical calendar, is placed 9 months after the celebration of 

the Immaculate Conception. The Virgin Mary revealed at Medjugorje that her true birthday is August 5.

509

 So, 

if she was conceived about nine months before her true birthday on August 5 (see chapter 9), then the 

Immaculate Conception occurred sometime in early November, not in December. (Blessed Anne Catherine 

did say that the Virgin Mary was born a number of days short of nine full months,

510

 but this would still place 

the Immaculate Conception sometime in November.) 

    According to Josephus, the celebration of the completion of the work on the Temple Sanctuary coincided 

with the anniversary of king Herod's inauguration as king over Jerusalem:   for at the same time with this 

celebration for the work about the temple, fell also the day of the king's inauguration, which he kept of an old 

custom as a festival, and it now coincided with the other; which coincidence of them both made the festival 

most illustrious. 

511

    Josephus also states that Herod completed his capture of Jerusalem on the Fast Day, that is, the Day of 

Atonement, on Tishri 10.

512

 Herod's initial inauguration as king over the Jews must have been held sometime 

after the capture of Jerusalem, in the autumn. There may have been some additional time required to finish 

any minor skirmishes on the battlefield and complete Herod's conquest of the area before his inauguration 

ceremony. Some length of time would then be needed to prepare for the inauguration of Herod so soon after a 

war had ended. And this ceremony would have been fairly elaborate, since Herod was vain and liked to exalt 

himself. Thus, his inauguration would not likely have occurred as early as the Feast of Tabernacles (Tishri 15 

22), five days after the capture of Jerusalem, but could have occurred a month later, during the Jewish month 

of Heshvan. The month of Heshvan contains no major Jewish religious celebration that would conflict with a 

yearly celebration of the king's inauguration. And so, Heshvan, which generally falls in November, is a 

plausible time frame for Herod's inauguration ceremony. 

    The celebration of the  completion of the rebuilding of the Temple Sanctuary coincided with the annual 

celebration of the king's inauguration ceremony, and so most likely fell in Heshvan, about a month after the 

Feast of Tabernacles and more than a month before Hanukkah. In the year 31 

B.C.

, Heshvan began on Oct. 19 

and ended on Nov. 17.

513

 But at what time of the month would a Jewish feast in celebration of the rebuilding 

of the Temple Sanctuary be held? 

    In the Jewish religious calendar, celebrations such as the Feast of Tabernacles and the Feast of Passover 

begin on the 15th of the Jewish month. Passover lasts for 7 days, until the 21st of the month, and the Feast of 

Tabernacles lasts for 8 days, until the 22nd of the month (Ex 12; Lev 23). The Jews in ancient times kept track 

of the days by observing the phases of the moon. The new moon is the beginning of the month, and the full 

moon falls in the middle of the month, about the 15th. The Jewish calendar wisely begins major celebrations 

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