At the Credo
AN ACT OF FAITH
O My God! I believe in Thee; I believe all that Thou hast revealed, and that the holy Catholic Church proposes to my belief. I believe, first, that the most Blessed Virgin is truly the Mother of God; I believe firmly, and with all certainty, that she is at the same time mother and virgin, and that she is free from even the least actual sin. I also believe most firmly, and with all certainty, that, by a singular grace and privilege of Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the human race, Mary was, in the first instant of her conception, preserved free from all stain of original sin. I believe most firmly, and with all certainty, that when the Roman Pontiff speaks ex cathedra — that is, when, in quality of the chief pastor and teacher of all Christians, he, in virtue of his supreme and apostolic authority, defines the doctrine to be held by the universal Church concerning faith or morals —by the divine assistance, promised him in the person of St. Peter, he enjoys that infallibility with which the divine Redeemer wished His Church to be endowed when de-
