At What Stage of Development Does an Unborn Child Receive its Soul?

At What Stage of Fetal Development Does an Unborn Child Receive its Soul?

"The soul is present the moment the active and passive principles of germination coalesce to form a definite entity. We therefore say that from the moment of conception, the soul is present. Our very doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary implies that doctrine. For we say that, from the moment of her conception, her soul was preserved immaculate, or free from any taint of original or inherited sin. Her soul, therefore, was created by God at the moment of her conception and long before human activity in the sense of discernible physical movement."

"In St. Luke we read that, when our Blessed Lady visited Elizabeth, the latter cried, 'for behold, when the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the child in my womb leaped for joy' (Luke 1:44). Even before his birth, St. John the baptist was able to know by revelation of the presence of the also yet-inborn Christ. And the souls of others are also created at the moment of their conception. The unborn child possesses an 'earthly existence' every bit as much as the child lying in a cradle or romping in the streets. It is a living human being from the moment of conception."

— Fr. Leslie Rumble (1892-1975), pioneer Catholic radio apologist

Excerpt from Radio Replies: Classic Answers to Timeless Questions about the Catholic Faith