Presentation of Mary

The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, known in the East as The Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple, is a liturgical feast celebrated on November 21[1] by the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and some Anglo-Catholic Churches.

The account of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Temple is principally based on the Protoevangelium of James, which has been dated by historians prior to the year 200 AD.

The story relates that in thanksgiving for the birth of their daughter Mary, Joachim and Anne decide to consecrate her to God, and bring her, at the age of three years, to the temple in Jerusalem.

Mary's presentation in the temple draws parallels to that of the prophet Samuel, whose mother Hannah, like Anne, was also thought to be barren, and who offered her child as a gift to God at Shiloh.

"[3] The feast originated as a result of the dedication of the New Church of the Theotokos, built in 543 by the Byzantines under Emperor Justinian I near the site of the ruined Temple in Jerusalem.

"[9] In the 1974 encyclical Marialis Cultus, Pope Paul VI wrote that "despite its apocryphal content, it presents lofty and exemplary values and carries on the venerable traditions having their origins in the Eastern churches".

[11] During the World Youth Day in July 2016, Pope Francis paid a private morning visit to the Convent of the Sisters of the Presentation (lat.

[17] The Sisters of Mary of the Presentation is a Catholic religious institute founded in 1828 in Broons, France, known for schools and hospitals in Europe, Africa, and North America.