08 September - It is believed that it was the Church of Jerusalem that first honoured and commemorated the nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, celebrated in the basilica in the place where the Virgin Mary is supposed to be born. The sermon of Andrew of Crete describes the birth of the Virgin Mary.

This sermon illustrates the difference between Mary and the other women: "A virgin will come out of Judah and David, bearing the sign of royalty and priesthood, from those who received the sacrifice of Aaron according to the law of Melchisedec". In Rome, the celebration takes place in the Basilica of Andrew, a procession continues from the Basilica of St Andrew to the Basilica of St Mary Major. Catholic prayer books place the hymn of this celebration as the hymn of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In his book "History of the mysteries and feasts", Pope Benedict XIV tells us that every year, on the 8th of September, a hermit hears a song from heaven. When this man asked God the reason for it, he got the answer that it was a commemoration of the nativity of the Virgin Mary, which is celebrated in heaven, and that Mary was born for humanity, which should also celebrate her nativity here on earth. The hermit went to the Pope to tell his vision, and the Pope decreed a celebration of the nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

In France, the nativity of the Virgin Mary has long been known as Notre-Dame d'Angevine. It is especially reminiscent of the apparition of the Blessed Virgin at Maurille, Bishop of Angers in 430, near Saint-Florent. The woman asked the bishop to set aside time to celebrate the nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Fulbert, Bishop of Sartre did his best to spread this feast in the north during the reign of King Robert the Pious. On the evening of the celebration, the cathedral was burnt down and when it was rebuilt, it was renamed Nativity of Our Lady. On the death of Pope Celestine IV, Frederick II imprisoned all the cardinals so that the conclave would not take place. All the cardinals swore that once out of prison they would spend a week celebrating the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. As soon as they were released, they elected Innocent IV and fulfilled this vow at the first Council of Lyon in 1245. Gregory XI held a prayer vigil on this occasion.