The Annunciation is the moment when the angel Gabriel announced to the Virgin Mary that she would conceive and bear the Son of God, and Mary answered, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word.” At that moment the Son of God became man in her womb. The Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord on March 25, nine months before Christmas. Below is the Gospel story, what it means, when the feast is celebrated (including the change in 2027), and the prayers that recall it every day.
The Annunciation in the Bible
St. Luke tells the story:
And in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee, called Nazareth,
To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.
And the angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.
Who having heard, was troubled at his saying, and thought with herself what manner of salutation this should be.
And the angel said to her: Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God.
Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name Jesus.
He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the most High; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of David his father; and he shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever.
And of his kingdom there shall be no end.
And Mary said to the angel: How shall this be done, because I know not man?
And the angel answering, said to her: The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the most High shall overshadow thee. And therefore also the Holy which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
And behold thy cousin Elizabeth, she also hath conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her that is called barren:
Because no word shall be impossible with God.
And Mary said: Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
What the Annunciation means
- The Incarnation. At Mary’s consent, “the Word was made flesh” (John 1:14). The Annunciation is the beginning of the Christmas mystery: God became man not at his birth but at his conception.
- Mary’s “yes.” Mary’s fiat, “be it done to me,” is the perfect act of faith and obedience. The Church Fathers contrasted it with Eve’s disobedience. See Mary, Undoer of Knots.
- “Full of grace.” Gabriel’s greeting shows that Mary was filled with God’s grace from the beginning, the root of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception.
- The Hail Mary. The first words of the Hail Mary are the angel’s greeting.
- The first Joyful Mystery of the Rosary. See the Joyful Mysteries.
When is the feast of the Annunciation?
The Annunciation is celebrated on March 25. When March 25 falls in Holy Week or the Easter Octave, the solemnity is moved to the Monday after the Second Sunday of Easter. In 2027, March 25 is Holy Thursday, so the Annunciation is celebrated on Monday, April 5, 2027.
It is a solemnity but not a holy day of obligation in the United States. At Mass on the Annunciation (and at Christmas), everyone kneels at the words of the Creed that speak of the Incarnation, “by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man.”
The traditional prayer of the feast
The collect of the Annunciation, from a 1916 daily missal:
O God, who wast pleased that thy Word, at the message of an Angel, should take flesh in the womb of the blessed Virgin Mary; grant to us thy suppliants, that we who believe her to be truly the Mother of God may be assisted by her intercession with thee. Through the same Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.
The Angelus: the Annunciation every day
Three times a day, at 6 a.m., noon and 6 p.m., Catholics pray the Angelus, which recalls the Annunciation verse by verse: “The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary…” See the Angelus prayer.
The place of the Annunciation
The Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth, rebuilt in 1969, stands over the grotto venerated since early Christian times as the home of Mary. An inscription on the altar there reads Verbum caro hic factum est, “Here the Word was made flesh.”
Frequently asked questions
Why is the Annunciation on March 25?
Because it is nine months before Christmas, December 25.
Is the Annunciation a holy day of obligation?
No, not in the United States. It is a solemnity, and it is a beautiful day to attend Mass.
What did Mary say at the Annunciation?
“Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word” (Luke 1:38).
More Marian prayers and feasts
- The Visitation
- Psalm 40 (Here I am, Lord)
- Angelus prayer
- Hail Mary
- The Magnificat
- Marian feast days
- Joyful Mysteries
- Nativity of Mary
Texts and sources
- Scripture: Luke 1:26–38, Douay-Rheims Bible (Challoner), public domain.
- Collect: The Mass Every Day of the Year (1916), public domain (archive.org).
- Catechism of the Catholic Church 484–494.