A Layman's Chronology of Mary

100 BC In the pagan temple on the site of the Chartres Cathedral, the Druids devoted space to the "Virgin who gave birth".

620 The Koran was written with thirty-four references to Mary.

1522 At Christmas Mass, Martin Luther said, "This is the consolation and overflowing goodness of God that man, insofar as he believes, can glory in the precious act that Mary is his true Mother, Christ his brother, and God his father. If you believe this, then you really sit in the Virgin's lap as her dear child."

1926 Mahatma Gandhi wrote, "The feeling I had in Paris about the Virgin Mary has since been growing on me, that all this kneeling and prayer could not be mere superstition. The devout souls kneeling before the Virgin could not be worshiping mere marble. I have an impression that I felt then that by this worship they were not detracting from, but increasing, the glory of God."

2009 Michelle Obama said that President Obama always carries in his wallet a picture of Mary Help of Christians.