Who was the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus? The Bible gives her a handful of scenes. Here's what we know, and what two thousand years added.

In this episode of Everyday Saints, we walk through every scene of the Virgin Mary's story in the New Testament and sort church history from tradition: the Annunciation in Nazareth, her visit to Elizabeth and the song known as the Magnificat, the two accounts of the birth of Jesus in Matthew and Luke, Simeon's warning, the lost boy in the Temple, the wedding at Cana, the cross, and the upper room in the book of Acts.

Then we look at what came after the Bible: the second-century Gospel of James, the council at Ephesus that gave Mary the title Theotokos, and what the Catholic Church teaches about the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption. And in Truth or Legend: Were Mary's parents really named Joachim and Anne? Was she fourteen when Jesus was born? Did she die in Ephesus? And is she really mentioned more in the Quran than in the New Testament?

Plus a Back on the Porch reflection on what Mary shows us about holding on to something you don't understand yet, and callbacks to Joseph (episode 17) and Peter (episode 1).

Everyday Saints tells the true stories of Catholic saints, separating verified church history from centuries of pious legend — one ordinary saint at a time.

New saint episodes every Thursday. Questions or ideas for a future special? Email EverydaySaintsShow@gmail.com or find me on X @EvryDaySaint. More at EverydaySaintsPodcast.com