Virgin Mary Art Reproductions

Mary commonly referred to as "Saint Mary", "Mother Mary", the "Virgin Mary", the "Blessed Virgin Mary", or "Mary, Mother of Jesus", was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee. She is identified in the New Testament and in Islam as the mother of Jesus through divine intervention. Christians believe that she conceived her son miraculously by the agency of the Holy Spirit. This took place when she was already betrothed to Saint Joseph and was awaiting the concluding rite of marriage, the formal home-taking ceremony. She married Joseph and accompanied him to Bethlehem, where Jesus was born. In keeping with Jewish custom, the betrothal would have taken place when she was around 12, and the birth of Jesus about a year later. Mary has been an object of veneration in Christianity since the Apostolic Age. Throughout the ages she has been a favorite subject in Christian art, music, and literature.