Nigeria. Enugu State. Awhun. Saint Luke's Catholic Parish. An Igbo man is seated on a wooden bench during a religious wedding ceremony. A plaster statue of the Virgin Mary stands up close to the wall. Two vases with plastic flowers are on the ground. Mary was a first-century BC Galilean Jewish woman and the mother of Jesus, according to the New Testament. The gospels of Matthew and Luke in the New Testament describe Mary as a virgin; according to Christian theology she conceived Jesus through the Holy Spirit while still a virgin. Mary has been venerated since early Christianity and is considered by millions to be the most meritorious saint of the religion. She is said to have miraculously appeared to believers many times over the centuries. 29.06.19 © 2019 Didier Ruef