When, exactly, did Mary conceive Jesus?

[Holly3278]

Hi everyone. I have a question. When, exactly, did Mary conceive Jesus from the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit? Did it happen when Gabriel visited her or did it happen some time after this?

(Luke 1:35 RSV) And the angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.

My take is that it must have happened sometime after Gabriel appeared to her. Why? Because Gabriel clearly says “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you;”

So, I know that I may be wrong but did Mary conceive after Gabriel visited her or at some other time?

 

[SuscipeMeDomine]

If it happened later it couldn’t have been much later. We celebrate the Annunciation on March 25 and Christmas on December 25.

 

[Holly3278]

If it happened later it couldn’t have been much later. We celebrate the Annunciation on March 25 and Christmas on December 25.

Yes, I know when we celebrate those days. Actually though, I didn’t know when we celebrated the Annunciation. So you got me on that one.

 

[ElizabethPH]

I’ve always looked at it as being as soon as she said ‘yes’. And if not that she was pregnant by the time she got to Elizabeth’s.

 

[Cluny]

Keep in mind that in the usual cycle of human gestation, the zygote implants some days AFTER fertilization.

However, in this case, the laws of nature were overcome, so the exact obstetrical details I suppose we’ll never know.

 

[Roman_Army]

Keep in mind that in the usual cycle of human gestation, the zygote implants some days AFTER fertilization.

However, in this case, the laws of nature were overcome, so the exact obstetrical details I suppose we’ll never know.

Conception is defined as the first moment of fertilization of the ovum, not the implantation. It makes sense that she would have conceived immediately after saying yes.