“Presentation of the Virgin at the Temple” by Domenico Ghirlandaio (1485), on display at the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella in Florence, Italy
Feast day: Nov. 21
The Feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, celebrated annually on Nov. 21, commemorates the presentation of Mary as a child by her parents in the Temple in Jerusalem.
Before Mary's birth, her parents received a heavenly message that they would bear a child. In thanksgiving for the God's gift of Mary's birth, they brought her to the Temple to consecrate their only daughter to the Lord.
Mary would go on to become the tabernacle of the Lord when she gave her “fiat” to become the Mother of God. Chosen by God to carry Jesus in her womb, she herself was formed for such a vocation with her presentation at the Temple.
The celebration of this feast is first documented in the 11th century in the Byzantine Catholic Church. It was introduced into the Roman Catholic Church in the 15th century by Pope Gregory XI, then removed from the calendar by Pope Pius V in the mid-16th century.
Pope Sixtus V later reestablished the feast in 1585, and it is still celebrated today to commemorate the purity of Mary and the faith of her parents, Joachim and Anne.
— Catholic News Agency