Blessed Virgin Mary in the context of "Chester Cathedral"

The Society of Jesus (Latin: Societas Iesu; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits (/ˈdʒɛʒuɪts, ˈdʒɛzju-/ JEZH-oo-its, JEZ-ew-; Latin: Iesuitae), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 by Ignatius of Loyola and six companions, with the approval of Pope Paul III. The Society of Jesus is the largest religious order in the Catholic Church and has played a significant role in education, charity, humanitarian acts and global policies. The Society of Jesus is engaged in evangelization and apostolic ministry in 112 countries. Jesuits work in education, research, and cultural pursuits. They also conduct retreats, minister in hospitals and parishes, sponsor direct social and humanitarian works, and promote ecumenical dialogue.

The Society of Jesus is consecrated under the patronage of Madonna della Strada, a title of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and it is led by a superior general. The headquarters of the society, its general curia, is in Rome. The historic curia of Ignatius is now part of the Collegio del Gesù attached to the Church of the Gesù, the Jesuit mother church.

48°13′35″N 12°40′36″E / 48.22626°N 12.67654°E / 48.22626; 12.67654The Shrine of Our Lady of Altötting, also known as the Chapel of Grace (German: Gnadenkapelle), is the national shrine of Bavaria dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is known for the many healings which are said to have taken place there, and is commonly called the Lourdes of Germany.

The octagonal chapel which now houses the image of Our Lady was built around 660 A.D., and is the oldest Marian shrine in Germany. This image of Mary is what is known as a Black Madonna. It was created possibly around 1330 A.D. and carved from lindenwood. The identity of the artist who carved the "Black Madonna" of Altötting is not definitively known. The parish chronicle mentions that the image was sculpted by a "holy hermit" in Altötting.

In Christian art, a Madonna (Italian: [maˈdɔnna]) is a religious depiction of the Blessed Virgin Mary in a singular form or sometimes accompanied by the Child Jesus. These images are central icons for both the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches. The word is from Italian ma donna 'my lady' (archaic). The Madonna and Child type is very prevalent in Christian iconography, divided into many traditional subtypes especially in Eastern Orthodox iconography, often known after the location of a notable icon of the type, such as the Theotokos of Vladimir, Agiosoritissa, Blachernitissa, etc., or descriptive of the depicted posture, as in Hodegetria, Eleusa, etc.

The term Madonna in the sense of "picture or statue of the Virgin Mary" enters English usage in the 17th century, primarily in reference to works of the Italian Renaissance. In an Eastern Orthodox context, such images are typically known as Theotokos. "Madonna" may be generally used of representations of Mary, with or without the infant Jesus, where she is the focus and central figure of the image, possibly flanked or surrounded by angels or saints. Other types of Marian imagery that have a narrative context, depicting scenes from the Life of the Virgin, e.g. the Annunciation to Mary, are not typically called "Madonna".

Marienplatz (English: Mary's Square, i.e., St. Mary, Our Lady's Square) is a central square in the city centre of Munich, Germany. It has been the city's main square since 1158.

The Ghent Altarpiece, also called the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb (Dutch: De aanbidding van het Lam Gods), is a very large and complex 15th-century polyptych altarpiece in St Bavo's Cathedral, Ghent, Belgium. It was begun around the mid-1420s and completed by 1432, and it is attributed to the Early Netherlandish painters and brothers Hubert and Jan van Eyck. The altarpiece is a prominent example of the transition from Middle Age to Renaissance art and is considered a masterpiece of European art, identified by some as "the first major oil painting."

The panels are organised in two vertical registers, each with double sets of foldable wings containing inner and outer panel paintings. The upper register of the inner panels represents the heavenly redemption, and includes the central classical Deësis arrangement of God (identified either as Christ the King or God the Father), flanked by the Virgin Mary and John the Baptist. They are flanked in the next panels by angels playing music and, on the far outermost panels, the figures of Adam and Eve. The central panel of the lower register shows a gathering of saints, sinners, clergy, and soldiers attendant at an adoration of the Lamb of God. There are several groupings of figures, overseen by the dove of the Holy Spirit. The four lower panels of the closed altar are divided into two pairs; sculptural grisaille paintings of St John the Baptist and St John the Evangelist, and on the two outer panels, donor portraits of Joost Vijdt and his wife Lysbette Borluut; in the upper row are the archangel Gabriel and the Annunciation, and at the very top are the prophets and sibyls. The altarpiece is one of the most renowned and important artworks in European history.

The Friday of Sorrows or Passion Friday is a solemn pious remembrance of the sorrowful Blessed Virgin Mary on the Friday before Palm Sunday held in the fifth week of Lent (formerly called "Passion Week"). In the Anglican Ordinariate's Divine Worship: The Missal it is called Saint Mary in Passiontide and sometimes it is traditionally known as Our Lady in Passiontide.

In certain Catholic countries, especially Brazil, Guatemala, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Peru, the Philippines, and Spain, it is the beginning of Holy Week celebrations and often termed Viernes de Dolores (Friday of Sorrows) or a similar local name. It takes place exactly one week before Good Friday, and focuses on the emotional pain the Passion of Jesus Christ caused his mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, who is venerated under the title Our Lady of Sorrows.

The Cathedral Church and Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Mother of God, Help of Christians, Patroness of Australia, locally known as Saint Mary's Cathedral, is a Catholic basilica and the seat of the Archdiocese of Sydney. The cathedral is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary under the venerated title of “Our Lady, Help of Christians" and Patroness of Australia.

Pope Pius XI raised the shrine to the status of Minor Basilica via the Pontifical decree Inter Potiores Sacras on 4 August 1932. Pope Benedict XVI made an Apostolic Visit to the shrine in 19 July 2008.

Our Lady of Tinos (Greek: Παναγία Ευαγγελίστρια της Τήνου, Panagía Evangelístria tēs Tēnou, lit. "The All-Holy Bringer of Good News", and Μεγαλόχαρη της Τήνου, Megalócharē tēs Tēnou, lit. "She of Great Grace") is the major Marian shrine in Greece. It is located in the town of Tinos on the island of Tinos.

The complex is built around a miraculous icon which according to tradition was found after the Virgin appeared to the nun Pelagia and revealed to her the place where the icon was buried. The icon is widely believed to be the source of numerous miracles. It is by now almost completely encased in silver, gold, and jewels, and is commonly referred to as the "Megalócharē" ("[She of] Great Grace") or simply the "Chárē Tēs" ("Her Grace"). By extension the church is often called the same, and is considered a protectress of seafarers and healer of the infirm.