TUESDAY, MARCH 25: Jesus’s Passion and Easter (Pascha) may be on the horizon for the world’s 2.1 billion Christians, but today the Church turns to an event much earlier in the story of Jesus: the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Delivered by the angel Gabriel, the Annunciation informed Mary that she would soon conceive and bear a son; this son, to be named “Jesus,” would be the savior of mankind, according to Christian tradition. The Gospel of Luke describes how Mary, though frightened at first, listened to Gabriel’s words and then replied: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.” In the Church’s calendar, the Annunciation falls precisely nine months before Christmas.

Gospels give no concrete evidence of the location of Mary’s Annunciation, though most agree that it took place somewhere in Nazareth. (Wikipedia has details.) While Elizabeth was six months pregnant with John the Baptist, the Annunciation was given to Mary: It’s written that John “leaped” inside Elizabeth upon hearing Mary’s news. As part of the Annunciation, Gabriel assured Mary that she had found favor with God, and the Catholic church emphasizes God’s decision to not only place the Son of God in her womb, but to “enrich her soul with a fullness of grace,” as well. (The Global Catholic Network has more.) The Annunciation is held in such high esteem, in fact, that it is observed as a feast in the Eastern Church even if it falls on Great and Holy Friday. The Annunciation is also described in the Quran, and Muslims tradition relates the Annunciation as having taken place during the month of Ramadan.