A new book argues that the mother of Jesus was a powerhouse in her own right. Madonna and Child, c.1485 (oil on wood) by Giovanni Bellini, currently at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

She was there when Jesus was crucified, yet no one knows much about her. That might be why scholars just can’t quit chasing down the truth about Mary Magdalene. The Penitent Magdalene by Guido Reni.

Mary, under her title of the Immaculate Conception, has been patroness of the United States since the mid-19th century. But her protection of the nation dates back to its earliest history. One of the ...