The best thing about President Trump's second go 'round in the White House has got to be that he always leaves you guessing what he'll do next. Nominating Matt Gaetz as Attorney General? Okaay. Pave over the Rose Garden to make way for a patio? Sure, why not. Pay tribute to Mary, the Mother of God? Well, that is different -- different in the best way possible.
The president certainly caught me by surprise Monday when he issued a message to Christians observing the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, writing, "Today, I recognize every American celebrating December 8 as a Holy Day honoring the faith, humility, and love of Mary, mother of Jesus and one of the greatest figures in the Bible."
NEW: President Trump issues a presidential message on the Catholic "feast of the Immaculate Conception," recognizing that "for nearly 250 years, Mary has played a distinct role in our great American story."
— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) December 8, 2025
His message recounts the deep devotion that American Catholics and… pic.twitter.com/grhFkIU9Sd
NEW: President Trump issues a presidential message on the Catholic "feast of the Immaculate Conception," recognizing that "for nearly 250 years, Mary has played a distinct role in our great American story."
His message recounts the deep devotion that American Catholics and American saints have had for Mary, the mother of Jesus.
Today's feast day is a "Holy Day of Obligation" in the Catholic Church, meaning that Catholics must go to [M]ass.
In the Catholic Church, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception celebrates that Mary, unlike the rest of us mere mortals, was conceived without original sin. This allowed Mary to live her life focused on being the Mother of God, free from the constraints that might hold the rest of us back. She chose love over fear, anger, and frustration. She was free to say yes to God when the angel Gabriel visited her, and she was able shoulder the burden of watching her son as He endured His last agony.
Or, as my pastor put it, she didn't say "Why me?," but merely asked, "How?" And, as President Trump noted in his message, she fearlessly accepted God's will, telling Him, "May it be done to me according to your word.”
Mary is an important figure in the Catholic Church, but we're not really used to having that recognized in such a public way by the most powerful man in the world. We're more used to the warped Catholicism of Joe Biden, who loved to trumpet his "faith" while simultaneously passing laws that were anything but Catholic (see: Biden's radical abortion and LGBTQ agenda). And let's not forget his FBI targeted Catholics for embracing pre-Vatican II traditions.
Here's the best part – not only did President Trump recognize the importance of the feast day, he also spoke to the role Mary played, in particular, to American history.
In 1792, less than a decade after the end of the Revolutionary War, Bishop John Carroll—the first Catholic bishop in the United States and cousin of signer of the Declaration of Independence Charles Carroll—consecrated our young Nation to the mother of Christ. Less than a quarter-century later, Catholics attributed General Andrew Jackson’s stunning victory over the British in the climactic Battle of New Orleans to Mary.
This isn't the first time the president has publicly invoked the name of Mary. As RedState's Nick Arama reported, then-candidate Trump posted a "Happy birthday, Mary!" message to social media on September 8, 2024; September 8th is thought to be the date of Mary's birth and is celebrated as the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The blowback on Trump, who was raised Presbyterian, was swift and truly bizarre, with some claiming Trump would have deported Mary.
Well, the weirdos aren't going to like this part one bit: Trump invoked the name of Mary to pray for peace, writing, "Today, we look to Mary once again for inspiration and encouragement as we pray for an end to war and for a new and lasting era of peace, prosperity, and harmony in Europe and throughout the world."
Maybe it's just my perception, but Butler, Pennsylvania, seems to have forever changed Donald Trump and drawn him closer to his own faith and the faith of those around him. Wouldn't blame him a bit if that's the case. (Before his assassination, Charlie Kirk, too, had talked about Mary and encouraged evangelicals to venerate her more.)
The reason Trump's message on this holy occasion is so remarkable is because Catholics are used to either being courted as a voting bloc or excoriated as extremists for embracing the Traditional Latin Mass. To have a president's respect, as opposed to being targeted by the occupant of the Oval Office (cough, cough, Biden), is all a bit different for us. It's also entirely welcome.
