Mary

If you look in the New Testament you'll find about 4 different Marys. The Mary that I'll be writing about here is Mary: the mother of Jesus, the wife of Joseph, the one chosen by God himself to shape and nurture the redeemer of the world. Who is this Mary? What made her special among the women of her time? In the natural progression of being able to understand her these questions need answering.
To better understand Mary, the person, one must examine her beginnings; her very early beginnings. Mary was born to a couple by the name of Joachim and Anne. They lived in the Jerusalem/Nazareth area. They were of the Jewish faith and they were very devoted to God. As a couple they were unable to have children because Anne was barren and this was considered to be a punishment of God according to their faith, during that time frame. In fact Joachim would go off into the mountains to pray while Anne would pray at home and beg God to give them a child. It was during these prayerful moments that she promised to dedicate her child to God's service.Their prayers were answered.
The Catholic Church defines Mary's birth as the Immaculate Conception which states that Mary was conceived without original sin. This officially became known as the "Immaculate Conception Doctrine" in 1854. Mary is also referred as "Ever Virgin" and this goes back to the promise of God to Isaiah 7:14 which states "a virgin shall conceive and bear a son." I also think it's important to point out how the angel Gabriel addresses Mary by saying, "Hail, full of grace".
I think it's worth noting that Mary is descended from the line of David from the tribe of Judah. As part of the Jewish tradition children are presented in the temple and such was the case with Mary. In- terestingly enough, when Mary was presented at the temple she took a vow of perpetual virginity.