Mary (Judeo-Aramaic: מרים, Maryām, from Hebrew Miriam, Greek Μαριαμ or Μαρια, in Arabic مريم Maryam), and called since medieval times Madonna (My Lady), resident in Nazareth in Galilee, is known from the New Testament as the mother of Jesus of Nazareth. The New Testament describes her as a young maiden who conceived by the agency of the Holy Spirit whilst she was already the betrothed wife of Joseph of the House of David and awaiting their imminent formal home-taking ceremony (the concluding Jewish wedding rite).

Christians generally maintain that she was a virgin at the point of conception and at least until the birth of Jesus. The Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox Churches and some Protestant denominations also maintain that Mary remained a virgin throughout the rest of her life.

The New Testament recounts her presence at important stages during her son's adult life (e.g., at the Wedding at Cana and at his crucifixion). Also, she was present at communal prayers immediately after Jesus' Ascension.

Narratives of her life are further elaborated in later Christian apocrypha, who give the names of her parents as Joachim and Anne.

Christian churches teach various doctrines concerning Mary, and she is the subject of much veneration. The area of Christian theology concerning her is known as Mariology. The conception of her son Jesus is believed to have been an act of the Holy Spirit, and to fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah that a virgin (or young woman) would bear a son who would be called Immanuel ("God with us"). The Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches venerate her as the Ever-Virgin Mother of God (Theotokos), who was specially favoured by God's grace (Catholics hold that she was conceived without original sin) and who, when her earthly life had been completed, was assumed bodily into Heaven. Some Protestants, including certain Anglicans, Methodists and Lutherans, embrace veneration of Mary and also hold some of these doctrines. Others, especially in the Reformed tradition, question or even condemn the devotional and doctrinal position of Mary in the above traditions. Mary also holds a revered position in Islam.

The Roman Catholic tradition has a well established philosophy for the study and veneration of the Virgin Mary via the field of Mariology with Pontifical schools such as the Marianum specifically devoted to this task .