Mary, the mother of Jesus in the context of "Passion of Jesus"

Agia Paraskevi (Greek: Αγία Παρασκευή, also Ayia Paraskevi is a village and a former municipality on the island of Lesbos, North Aegean, Greece. Since the 2019 local government reform it is part of the municipality of West Lesvos, of which it is a municipal unit. It is located in the central part of the island, on the northeast shore of Kalloni Bay. The village is named after the Church of Agia Paraskevi, which is found in a cave in one of the highest points of the town. The town cemetery is also located there. Presumably built over an old pagan temple, there is a well in the cave, and drinking the water from this well has been said to have conferred the Virgin Mary's protection. Agia Paraskevi is an old village that is becoming a powerful cultural and economic center for the island. The village is known for its old mansions, unique architecture and for its festivals. It is often referred to as the « Little Paris of the Aegean » (μικρό Παρίσι), due to its quaint agora and stunning architecture.

Gothic art was a style of medieval art that developed in Northern France out of Romanesque art in the 12th century, led by the concurrent development of Gothic architecture. It spread to all of Western Europe, and much of Northern, Southern and Central Europe, never quite effacing more classical styles in Italy. In the late 14th century, the sophisticated court style of International Gothic developed, which continued to evolve until the late 15th century. In many areas, especially Germany, Late Gothic art continued well into the 16th century, before being subsumed into Renaissance art. Primary media in the Gothic period included sculpture, panel painting, stained glass, fresco and illuminated manuscripts. The easily recognisable shifts in architecture from Romanesque to Gothic, and Gothic to Renaissance styles, are typically used to define the periods in art in all media, although in many ways figurative art developed at a different pace.

The earliest Gothic art was monumental sculpture, on the walls of Cathedrals and abbeys. Christian art was often typological in nature (see Medieval allegory), showing the stories of the New Testament and the Old Testament side by side. Saints' lives were often depicted. Images of the Virgin Mary changed from the Byzantine iconic form to a more human and affectionate mother, cuddling her infant, swaying from her hip, and showing the refined manners of a well-born aristocratic courtly lady.

The Sistine Chapel (/ˈsɪstiːn/ SIST-een; Latin: Sacellum Sixtinum; Italian: Cappella Sistina [kapˈpɛlla siˈstiːna]) is a chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the pope's official residence in Vatican City. Originally known as the Cappella Magna ('Great Chapel'), it takes its name from Pope Sixtus IV, who had it built between 1473 and 1481. Since that time, it has served as a place of both religious and functionary papal activity. Today, it is the site of the papal conclave, the process by which a new pope is selected. The chapel's fame lies mainly in the frescoes that decorate its interior, most particularly the Sistine Chapel ceiling and The Last Judgment, both by Michelangelo.

During the reign of Sixtus IV, a team of Renaissance painters including Sandro Botticelli, Pietro Perugino, Pinturicchio, Domenico Ghirlandaio and Cosimo Rosselli, created a series of frescoes depicting the Life of Moses and the Life of Christ, offset by papal portraits above and trompe-l'œil drapery below. They were completed in 1482, and on 15 August 1483 Sixtus IV celebrated the first mass in the Sistine Chapel for the Feast of the Assumption, during which the chapel was consecrated and dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

Our Lady, Star of the Sea is an ancient title for Mary, the mother of Jesus. The words Star of the Sea are a translation of the Latin title Stella Maris.

The title has been in use since at least the early medieval period. Purportedly arising from a scribal error in a supposed etymology of the name Mary, it came to be seen as allegorical of Mary's role as "guiding star" on the way to Christ. Under this name, the Virgin Mary is believed to intercede as a guide and protector of seafarers in particular. Many coastal churches are named Stella Maris or Star of the Sea.

Catholic Mariology is the systematic study of the person of Mary, the mother of Jesus, and of her place in the Economy of Salvation in Catholic theology. According to the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception taught by the Catholic Church, Mary was conceived and born without the stain of original sin from the sin of Adam and Eve, meaning she was saved by God in the moment of her conception, and she is also known as the "New Eve", hence she is seen as having a singular dignity above the saints, receiving a higher level of veneration than all angelic spirits and blessed souls in heaven. Catholic Mariology thus studies not only her life but also the veneration of her in daily life, prayer, hymns, art, music, and architecture in modern and ancient Christianity throughout the ages.Our Lady (Madonna) is also defined as Mater Populi Fidelis in the "Doctrinal Note on Some Marian Titles Regarding Mary’s Cooperation in the Work of Salvation" of Pope Leo PP.XIV of 7 October 2025.

The basis of Mariology are the four Marian dogmas (also known as the Theotokos, Θεοτόκος in Greek): Mary's Divine Motherhood (or being the Mother of God), Her Immaculate Conception (having no stain of original sin), Her Perpetual Virginity, and the Assumption of Mary into Heaven. However, a number of other Catholic doctrines about the Virgin Mary have been developed by reference to Sacred Scripture, theological reasoning and church tradition. The development of Mariology is ongoing and since the beginnings it has continued to be shaped by theological analyses, writings of saints, and papal statements, e.g. while all four of the dogmas are ancient in their origin, two were not defined until the 19th and 20th centuries; and papal teachings on Mary have continued to appear in recent times.

The Gospel of James (or the Protoevangelium of James) is a second-century infancy gospel telling of the miraculous conception of Mary, the mother of Jesus, her upbringing and marriage to Joseph, the journey of the couple to Bethlehem, the birth of Jesus, and events immediately following. It is the earliest surviving assertion of the perpetual virginity of Mary, meaning her virginity not just prior to the birth of Jesus, but during and afterwards, and despite being condemned by Pope Innocent I in 405 and classified as apocryphal by the Gelasian Decree around AD 500, became a widely influential source for Mariology.