History UsefulNotes / TheVirginMary

* ''[[Film/BenHur1959 Ben-Hur]]'' (1959) opens with Joseph and Mary going to Bethlehem and the Nativity.

* WesternAnimation/TheSmallOne: she is only visible in silhouette form on the donkey towards the end.

* WesternAnimation/NestorTheLongEaredChristmasDonkey, Nestor helps Mary get to Bethlehem.

* WesternAnimation/TheLittleDrummerBoy, a stop-motion television special based on the Christmas carol of the same name. Mary appears at the end in the manger, as the drummer boy sees the newborn Jesus.
* WesternAnimation/TheNightTheAnimalsTalked: She is only seen from afar or in shadow.

Betrothed to Joseph, the ArchangelGabriel came to Mary to inform her that she would be visited by the Holy Spirit and give birth to the Messiah, a grace Mary gladly accepted.[[note]]Being a smart Jewish girl, she didn't ''just'' accept; she questioned the angel first: "How can this be? You know I'm not married yet, right?" Luke 1:34.[[/note]] Nine months and a migration to Bethlehem later, Mary gave birth to UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}}, Son of the Father, while maintaining her virginity. Mary had her son circumcised and brought before the Temple in Jerusalem, after which little is known about her life until her son began to minister. At that point, Mary convinced him to perform his first great miracle at Cana (John 2:1-11) as he turned water into wine.[[note]]Her words, "Do whatever he tells you," are quoted by Catholics as illustrating how Christ's mother leads you to Him.[[/note]] She accompanied her son until his death on the cross, where he told his follower, John, to regard her as his own mother. (John 19:26-27.) According to the Literature/ActsOfTheApostles, Mary was present in the Christian community after Christ's ascension and eventually, if Catholic tradition can be trusted, she [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence assumed bodily into heaven]].

Known by [[IHaveManyNames a myriad of titles]] -- you can find an "Our Lady of" just about ''anything'', because she is beloved and revered in many ways by UsefulNotes/{{Christian|ity}} all around the world. Her major feasts are January 1 (her motherhood, celebrated by Roman Catholics, as substitute for the feast of the circumcision of the newborn Jesus, held as per Jewish tradition eight days after his birth), May 31 (her visit to her cousin Elizabeth, who was also pregnant with John the Baptist, whereupon Mary spontaneously composed the ''Magnificat'' prayer [see June 24]), August 15 (the anniversary of her Assumption), August 22 (the eighth day after the Assumption, celebrated by Roman Catholics as her queenship), September 8 (her birthday), November 21 (her presentation in the Temple of Jerusalem, according to an apocryphal account), and December 12 (her conception, nine months before September 8); in addition, Roman Catholics also celebrate her apparitions at [[Film/TheSongOfBernadette Lourdes]] in France (February 11), Fátima in UsefulNotes/{{Portugal}}, (May 13-October 13), Mount Carmel in UsefulNotes/{{Israel}} (July 16), and Guadalupe in UsefulNotes/{{Mexico}} (December 12), as well as her titles as Our Lady of Sorrows (September 15) and of the Rosary (October 7).

* ''[[Film/BenHur1959 Ben-Hur]]'' (1959) opens with the Nativity.

Known by [[IHaveManyNames a myriad of titles]] -- you can find an "Our Lady of" just about ''anything'', because she is beloved and revered in many ways by UsefulNotes/{{Christian|ity}} all around the world. Her major feasts are January 1 (her motherhood, celebrated by Roman Catholics, as substitute for the feast of the circumcision of the newborn Jesus, held as per Jewish tradition eight days after his birth), May 31 (her visit to her cousin Elizabeth, who was also pregnant with John the Baptist, whereupon Mary spontaneously composed the ''Magnificat'' prayer [see June 24]), August 15 (the anniversary of her Assumption), August 22 (the eighth day after the Assumption, celebrated by Roman Catholics as her queenship), September 8 (her birthday), November 21 (her presentation in the Temple of Jerusalem, according to an apocryphal account), and December 12 (her conception, nine months before September 8); in addition, Roman Catholics also celebrate her apparitions at [[Film/TheSongOfBernadette Lourdes in France]] (February 11), Fátima in Portugal, (May 13-October 13), Mount Carmel in Israel (July 16), and Guadalupe in Mexico (December 12), as well as her titles as Our Lady of Sorrows (September 15) and of the Rosary (October 7).

The amount of devotional {{Art}} dedicated to Mary is difficult to imagine, but it led to the existence of whole tropes like PietaPlagiarism, ASaintNamedMary, and MadonnaArchetype. In fiction, Mary is most often present or referenced as a shorthand for IncorruptiblePurePureness or to complete a MessianicArchetype.

That'd be miraculous enough for anyone, but Mary wasn't content with that. She's had an [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marian_apparition astonishingly active post-Biblical career]], according to pious legend. She is, among other things, patroness of Mexico, of the United States (the US being hostile to Catholics until [[UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy one became President]], the American Church must have figured that they needed the biggest guns they could find), and of France (that's why many prominent French cathedrals are entitled ''Notre Dame'', "Our Lady").

Known by [[IHaveManyNames a myriad of titles]] -- you can find an "Our Lady of" just about ''anything'', because she is beloved and revered in many ways all around the world. Her major feasts are January 1 (her motherhood, celebrated by Roman Catholics, as substitute for the feast of the circumcision of the newborn Jesus, held as per Jewish tradition eight days after his birth), May 31 (her visit to her cousin Elizabeth, who was also pregnant with John the Baptist, whereupon Mary spontaneously composed the ''Magnificat'' prayer [see June 24]), August 15 (the anniversary of her Assumption), August 22 (the eighth day after the Assumption, celebrated by Roman Catholics as her queenship), September 8 (her birthday), November 21 (her presentation in the Temple of Jerusalem, according to an apocryphal account), and December 12 (her conception, nine months before September 8); in addition, Roman Catholics also celebrate her apparitions at [[Film/TheSongOfBernadette Lourdes in France]] (February 11), Fátima in Portugal, (May 13-October 13), Mount Carmel in Israel (July 16), and Guadalupe in Mexico (December 12), as well as her titles as Our Lady of Sorrows (September 15) and of the Rosary (October 7).

[[AC: Western Animation]]

* Animation/TheNightTheAnimalsTalked: She is only seen from afar or in shadow.

* ''[[Film/{{Jesus1979}} Jesus]]'' (1979)

* ''Film/Jesus1979'': A word for word adaptation of The Gospel of Luke

* Animation/TheNightThattheAnimalsTalk: She is only seen from afar or in shadow.

* Animation/TheNightThatTheAnimalsTalk: She is only seen from afar or in shadow.

* WesternAnimation/TheLittleDrummerBoy, a stop-motion television special based on the Christmas carol of the same name. Mary appears at the end in the manger, as the drummer boy sees the newborn Jesus.

* [[AC:Anime and Manga]]

The amount of devotional {{Art}} dedicated to Mary is difficult to imagine, but it led to the existence of whole tropes like PietaPlagiarism. In fiction, Mary is most often present or referenced as a shorthand for IncorruptiblePurePureness or to complete a MessianicArchetype.