© Getty Images

Early life -

Mary was born c. 18 BCE, most likely in Nazareth, Galilee. When she was three years old, Mary was given to service as a consecrated virgin in the Temple in Jerusalem. She remained ensconced in the temple until she was 12.

© Getty Images

What's in a name? -

Mary was actually known as Miriam, after the older sister of Moses. Her name in Arabic was Maryam.

© Getty Images

Who were Mary's parents? -

There are only 150 manuscripts that refer to the parents of Mary, one of which is the Gospel of James. These surviving documents tell us that her father was Saint Joachim and her mother was Saint Anne. 

© Getty Images

A descendant of Abraham -

Mary is believed to be a direct descendant of Abraham, a figure revered by the three great monotheistic religions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

© Getty Images

Mary and the Annunciation -

According to the book of Luke, Mary was visited by the angel Gabriel while she was engaged to be married to Joseph, a carpenter. The angel told the young woman that she had found favor with God and would give birth to Hhs son. This is known as the Annunciation.

© Public Domain

A birth foretold -

Puzzled, Mary asked how this was possible, as she was still a virgin. The angel replied that the Holy Spirit would impregnate her and that she would conceive a son called Jesus.

© Getty Images

In the family way -

Soon afterwards, Mary discovered that she was pregnant. In Christianity, Mary is commonly referred to as the Virgin Mary, in accordance with the belief that she was indeed impregnated by the Holy Spirit.

© Getty Images

Marriage of Joseph and Mary -

Mary and Joseph, who was also obedient to God and dissuaded from leaving her after he learned of the pregnancy, married each other in Bethlehem. It was also in Bethlehem that Jesus Christ was born.

© Getty Images

Birth of Jesus -

The birth of Jesus is only depicted in two of the gospels, Matthew and Luke. In Galatians 4 of the New Testament, reference is made to Jesus "born of a woman," therefore confirming Jesus as both human and divine and Mary as the mother.

© Getty Images

Return to Nazareth -

Mary and Joseph eventually returned home to Nazareth, where they lived quietly and, for the most part, anonymously.

© Getty Images

The Holy (extended) Family -

The Holy Family—the Child Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and Saint Joseph—probably lived in an extended family unit. The couple had four more sons: Joseph, James, Jude, and Simon. The last three mentioned are not to be confused with those who were apostles of Jesus by the same name. The Bible also tells us that Jesus had sisters, but none are named.

© Getty Images

Life as the mother of Jesus -

Mary's day would have been largely spent undertaking domestic chores, things like collecting and carrying water from a nearby well or stream, and gathering wood for the fire.

© Getty Images

Household chores -

Her household duties no doubt extended to cooking meals and washing utensils and clothes, as well as keeping the home clean and tidy.

© Getty Images

Mary was probably illiterate -

Mary is sometimes depicted in a literary setting, a hand on an open book or prayer sheet. However, it's doubtful that she knew how to read or write, since literacy was extremely rare among women of the time.

© Getty Images

Mariology -

Mariology is the theological study of Mary. Mariologists pore over the life of the mother of Jesus in Scripture and the development of doctrine pertaining to her life and mission.

© Getty Images

Did Mary even sin? -

Mary is believed by Catholics to have been born without original sin. In fact, Mariology considers a view of Christ and his role incomplete without reckoning with the part Mary had to play. How is this so?

© Getty Images

Immaculate Conception -

According to Roman Catholic Church dogma, Mary was the Immaculate Conception—in other words, she was the only person ever born without original sin. The Church argues that not once did Mary contract the guilt of Adam's original sin, his eating of forbidden fruit that brought despair and death into the world.

© Getty Images

Did Mary need saving? -

But that all depends on how we read the Bible and how Scripture is interpreted. In Luke 1:47, Mary says, "My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior." The argument goes that if Mary needed a savior, she must have been a sinner and therefore couldn't have been immaculately conceived.

© Getty Images

Is Mary the mother of Jesus, or the mother of God? -

The Eastern and Oriental Orthodox, Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran Churches believe that Mary, as mother of Jesus, is also the Mother of God. But why?

© Getty Images

Salvation of the human race -

When Mary is described as the mother of God, it's a reminder of the role she played in the salvation of the human race. The description can also be interpreted as meaning that Mary conceived a person within her womb and that person was the second divine person of the Trinity, after the Father and the Holy Spirit.

© Getty Images

Mary and Jesus' ministry -

Joseph died before Jesus' public ministry began. Mary, however, lived through the time of that ministry. We know this through Mark 3:31 and John 2:1-12.

© Getty Images

Present at the crucifixion -

John 19:25-27 tells us that Mary, her sister (Mary, the wife of Clopas), and Mary Magdalene were all present at Jesus' crucifixion.

© Getty Images

Mary's life after Jesus' death -

At that time of the crucifixion, Mary was probably close to 50 years old. That's well beyond the age most women in that epoch lived. But what happened to Mary after Jesus' death?

© Getty Images

Rare appearance -

In Acts 1:12–26, Mary is the only one referenced other than the 11 apostles to be mentioned by name who lived in the upper room when they returned from the Mount of Olives. The upper room, or cenacle, in Jerusalem is traditionally held to be the site of the Last Supper.

© Getty Images

Mary did not witness the Resurrection -

There is no reference in Scripture to tell us that Mary witnessed the Resurrection. The first woman to meet Jesus after the Resurrection was another Mary, Mary Magdalene.

© Public Domain

The Pope offers an explanation -

At a general audience on May 21, 1997, Pope John Paul II declared: "The gospels mention various appearances of the risen Christ, but not a meeting between Jesus and his Mother. This silence must not lead to the conclusion that after the Resurrection Christ did not appear to Mary; rather it invites us to seek the reasons."

© Getty Images

Mary's later life -

The account of Mary's presence with the apostles during the Pentecost (the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles of Jesus while they were in Jerusalem celebrating the Feast of Weeks) is vague. And after the Pentecost, Mary effectively disappears from history.

© Getty Images

Disappearance from history -

The belief of most biblical scholars is that Mary lived out her life in the company of the disciples. The truth is the rest of her life is shrouded in legend.

© Getty Images

Her death remains a mystery -

It isn't known when Mary died, and her passing is not recorded in the Scriptures. One tradition says she died in 43 CE, another in 48 CE.

© Getty Images

The Assumption of the Virgin Mary -

However, Orthodox tradition, tolerated also by Catholics, has her first dying a natural death, known as the Dormition of Mary, and then, soon after, her body itself also being assumed or taken into heaven.

© Getty Images

The Blessed Mother -

Mary's unswerving obedience to God as well as the virgin birth led to her being revered in Christianity across the world. As the Blessed Mother, she remains in the official teachings of the Catholic Church as "the first dwelling-place of God in salvation history."

Sources: (The Holy See) (Christian Courier) (America Magazine) (Home of the Mother) (National Catholic Register) (Bible Gateway) (Catholic Answers) (Women's History Network)

See also: Major questions the Bible leaves unanswered

© Getty Images