,%20c.%201503-1508_Paris,%20BNF_MS%20Latin%209474,%20fol.%2036v_2.jpeg) |
| +Jean Bourdichon, Visitation From the Grandes heures d'Anne de Bretagne French (Tours), c. 1503-1508 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Latin 9474, fol. 36v |
“In the days of Herod, King of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah of the priestly division of Abijah; his wife was from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
Both were righteous in the eyes
of God, observing all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly.
But they had no child, because
Elizabeth was barren and both were advanced in years.
Once when he was serving as
priest in his division’s turn before God,
according to the practice of the
priestly service, he was chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary of the Lord to
burn incense.
Then, when the whole assembly of
the people was praying outside at the hour of the incense offering,
the angel of the Lord appeared to
him, standing at the right of the altar of incense.
Zechariah was troubled by what he
saw, and fear came upon him.
But the angel said to him, “Do
not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth
will bear you a son, and you shall name him John.
And you will have joy and
gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth,
for he will be great in the sight
of [the] Lord. He will drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will be filled with the holy Spirit even
from his mother’s womb,
and he will turn many of the
children of Israel to the Lord their God.
He will go before him in the
spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of fathers toward children and
the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to prepare a people fit
for the Lord.”
Then Zechariah said to the angel,
“How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.”
And the angel said to him in
reply, “I am Gabriel, who stand before God. I was sent to speak to you and to
announce to you this good news.
But now you will be speechless
and unable to talk until the day these things take place, because you did not
believe my words, which will be fulfilled at their proper time.”
Meanwhile the people were waiting
for Zechariah and were amazed that he stayed so long in the sanctuary.
But when he came out, he was
unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the
sanctuary. He was gesturing to them but remained mute.
Then, when his days of ministry
were completed, he went home.
After this time his wife
Elizabeth conceived, and she went into seclusion for five months, saying,
“So has the Lord done for me at a
time when he has seen fit to take away my disgrace before others.”
 |
| Master of the Trinity, Annunciation to Zechariah From Petites heures de Jean de Berry French (Bourges), c. 1385-1390 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Latin 18014, fol. 203r |
Then follows the story of the Annunciation to Mary that she will become
the mother of Jesus. This Annunciation
is also made by Gabriel, who concludes his announcement with news of Elizabeth.
 |
| Annunciation From the Livre d’images de Madame Marie Flemish (Hainaut), c. 1275-1300 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Nouvelle acquisition francaise 16251, fol. 20v |
“And behold, Elizabeth, your
relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month
for her who was called barren;
for nothing will be impossible
for God.”
Mary said, “Behold, I am the
handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the
angel departed from her.
During those days Mary set out
and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah,
where she entered the house of
Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s
greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the holy
Spirit,
cried out in a loud voice and
said, “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And how does this happen to me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For at the moment the sound of
your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
Blessed are you who believed that
what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.”
Mary responds with the Magnificat
and this portion of the Gospel concludes:
“Mary remained with her about
three months and then returned to her home.”
Luke I: 5-25, 36-56
So much emphasis has been placed over the centuries on the Annunciation
portion of the first chapter of Luke’s Gospel, that the beauty and significance
of the encounter of the near-term Elizabeth and the newly pregnant Mary has
often been overlooked. But, I suggest
that they are actually essential to each other for us to gain an insight into
what is being said. Artists too have
been affected by the predominance of the Annunciation part of the story. While
there are thousands and thousands of images of the Annunciation, the number of
images of the Visitation, while numerous, are far less frequent.
However, as we can see from the edited quotation above, the two stories
are deeply interwoven. Among other
things: Mary is Elizabeth’s relative
(the precise degree of relationship is not specified, but has traditionally
been described as cousins); like other holy women of the past (Sarah, wife of
Abraham, for instance) Elizabeth is described as both barren and old; Gabriel,
the same angel who brings the surprising request to Mary, announces the birth
of a son to a doubting Zechariah; after
Zechariah returns home, Elizabeth finally conceives (by natural means in spite
of her age and former barren condition); she then goes into seclusion for five
months.
Luke’s account of the Annunciation begins “In the sixth month, the
angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth” (Luke
1:26). I (and I will bet most people who
read this part of the Gospel in connection with the Annunciation itself)
have always assumed that the six months referred to equates to six months from
the beginning of the year, which in the Hebrew reckoning of time would amount
to late March or early April, six months from the period of the High Holy Days
which fall in late September or early October.
However, read together with the story of the birth of John the Baptist,
it clearly refers to the timing of Elizabeth’s pregnancy. It is her sixth month that is being referred
to, not the calendar.
 |
| Master Francois, The Visitation From a Book of Hours French (Paris), c.1460-1470 London, British Library MS Egerton 2045, fol. 62v |
This places Mary’s pregnancy in a slightly different setting, tying the
two women and their babies together more closely, because the one is timed to
the other. The Gospel also says that,
having heard from Gabriel about Elizabeth’s condition, Mary quickly went to
her, traveling from Galilee to Judea.
When she arrived Elizabeth’s baby jumped for joy within her, causing her
to proclaim her own feelings and understanding of what has happened to her
younger relative.
Mary, we are told, remained there for three months, or until the birth
of John the Baptist. She then returns
home, now three months pregnant herself, to face the confusion of Joseph, her
betrothed, and then her marriage, the journey to Bethlehem and the birth of
Jesus.
The Pictorial Record
The meeting between the two women is a moment of great joy and exaltation. However, this is only intermittently obvious
in the pictorial record, as we will see.
In my initial preparatory survey for this essay I collected just about 100
pictures of the Visitation over a period spanning the eleventh to the twentieth
centuries from the sources that are available currently. Over the ensuing seven years the number of images available online has grown exponentially and I have now found several hundred. Therefore, I have revised this essay to include many of my new finds.
Among the thousands of images I found there are several themes which can be
identified and I have split the commentary up along those lines, so as not to
overwhelm. However, one theme is more
dominant than the others and, thus, has pride of place. This is what I call “The Simple Greeting”,
that is where Elizabeth welcomes Mary in a simple and straightforward
manner.
The earliest image of this type, which is also the earliest images I was able to collect, comes from what is colloquially known as "the Dark Ages". This is that unsettled period between the fall of the Western Roman Empire, generally reckoned as 475, and the rise of the Carolingian Empire in the late eighth century. It comes from the area in northern Italy that was dominated first by the Goths and then by the more recently arrived Lombards. It shows the almost abstract quality of some barbarian art, but is effective in reminding the viewer of the event it illustrates.
The earliest image of this type, which is also the earliest images I was able to collect, comes from what is colloquially known as "the Dark Ages". This is that unsettled period between the fall of the Western Roman Empire, generally reckoned as 475, and the rise of the Carolingian Empire in the late eighth century. It comes from the area in northern Italy that was dominated first by the Goths and then by the more recently arrived Lombards. It shows the almost abstract quality of some barbarian art, but is effective in reminding the viewer of the event it illustrates.
 |
| *The Visitation From the Altar of Duke Ratchis Pre-Romanesque, c. 739-744 Cividale del Friuli, Cathedral, Christian Museum and Treasury |
Other regions of Europe, however, were not so thoroughly dominated by barbarian influence in the visual arts. In those regions classical ideas of beauty still held sway, mediated through the forms of Byzantine art that had developed in late Antiquity.
_Byzantine,%2011th%20Century_Munich,%20Bayerische%20Staatsbibliothek_MS%20Clm%206832,%20cover.jpg) |
| *The Annunciation and the Visitation Ivory Book cover (detail) Byzantine, 11th Century Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek MS Clm 6832, cover |
And, from the southern region of Italy, a location that, though independent of the Byzantine Empire nevertheless was heavily influenced by the large Byzantine presence in the region.
 |
| Ivory plaque with the Visitation Italian, c. 1001-1200 Salerno, Museo Diocesano San Matteo |
The influence of Byzantine style and iconography was felt as far away as the land of the Franks, which we now know as France.
 |
| *The Visitation, Capital French, c. 1050 Saint-Benoit-sur-Loire, Fleury Abbey |
Another, area of
significant, lingering Byzantine influence was Palestine, in spite of the encroachment of
Muslim states in Syria and what is today Turkey.
 |
| Visitation From the Melisande Psalter Palestine (Jerusalem), c. 1131-1143 London, British Library MS Egerton 1139, fol. 1v |
The influence of the simple Byzantine style greeting motif continues
through the twelfth century.
 |
| The Visitation Portion of the Typanum French, 1130s Vezelay, Basilica of St. Mary Magdalen |
 |
| Bonannus, The Visitation Italian, 1187 Pisa, Church of Santa Maria Assunta |
 |
| The Visitation from a Picture Bible French (Saint-Omer, Abbey of St. Bertin), c.1190-1200 The Hague, Koninklijk Bibliotheek MS KB 76 F 5, fol. 10v |
,%20c.%201190-1200_Munich,%20Bayerische%20Staatsbibliothek_MS%20Clm%20835,%20fol.%2021v.jpg) |
| * The Visitation From the Munich Golden Psalter English (Oxford), c. 1190-1200 Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek MS Clm 835, fol. 21v |
,%20c.%201300-1350_Rome,%20Biblioteca%20Corsiniana_MS%2055.K.2%20(Rossi%2017),%20fol.%2020r.png) |
| *The Visitation From a Speculum humanae salvationis French (Avignon), c. 1300-1350 Rome, Biblioteca Corsiniana MS 55.K.2 (Rossi 17), fol. 20r |
In the
early 13th century, however, the somewhat stiff Byzantine stile merges with a new, more classically
aware strain that flows from the portals of Reims Cathedral to the doors of the
Baptistery of Florence Cathedral and beyond.
 |
| +The Visitation French, c. 1211-1225 Reims, Cathedral |
It is this image most of us
recognize as “the Visitation”, two women, one younger than the other, meeting
at the center of the picture with more or less formality. They may embrace, or kiss, or simply hold
each other by the hand.
 |
| The Visitation French, c.1252 Chartres, Cathedral |
 |
| Nicola Pisano, The Visitation Italian, c. 1265-1268 Siena, Cathedral |
 | ||
| The Visitation Italian, c. 1300-1350 Orvieto, Cathedral
|
 |
| +Giotto and Assistants, The Visitation Italian, c. 1315-1320 Assisi, Basilica of San Francesco |
 |
| *Andrea de Jacopo d'Ognabene, The Annunciation and the Visitation From the Silver Altar of Saint James Italian, After 1316 Pistoia, Cathedral |
,%20c.%201324-1328_New%20York,%20Met%20Mu%20of%20Art,%20The%20Cloisters_Acc.%23%2054.1.2,%20fol.%2016r.jpg) |
| *Jean Pucelle, The Visitation From the Hours of Jeanne d'Evreux, Queen of France French (Paris), c. 1324-1328 New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Cloisters Acc.# 54.1.2, fol. 16r |
 |
| Ivory plaque, The Visitation North French (Meuse Valley), c.1325-1350 New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art |
 |
| Andrea Pisano, The Visitation Italian, 1330 Florence, Baptistery |
,%20c.%201370-1380_Paris,%20BNF_MS%20Latin%20511,%20fol.%2048r.jpg) |
| * The Visitation From a Speculum humanae salvationis French (Alsace), c. 1370-1380 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Latin 511, fol. 48r In this delightful little painting the two women pat each other on the chin, a time-honored sign of affection. |
 |
| Melchior Broederlam, The Visitation Panel from a Polyptych Altarpiece Flemish, c. 1393-1399 Dijon, Musée des Beaux-Arts |
 |
| * The Visitation Spanish, 15th Century Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado |
,%20c.%201405-1408_Paris,%20Musee%20Jacquemart-Andre.jpg) |
| *The Boucicaut Master, The Visitation From the Hours of Marechal de Boucicaut French (Paris), c. 1405-1408 Paris, Musée Jacquemart-Andre |
 |
| Workshop of the Boucicaut Master, The Visitation from a Book of Hours French (Paris), c. 1415-1425 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library and Museum MS M 1000, fol.60r |
,%20c.%201420_New%20York,%20New%20York%20Public%20Library_MS%20Spencer%2015,%20fol.%2048c.png) |
| * The Visitation From a Speculum humanae salvationis German (Middle Rhine), c. 1420 New York, New York Public Library MS Spencer 15, fol. 48c The words above the picture read "Secundum gaudium" or "Second Joy", a reference to the Visitation as the second Joyful Mystery of the rosary. |
 |
| +Paolo Schiavo, The Visitation Italian, Late 1420s-Early 1430s Philadelphia, Museum of Art |
 |
| * Attributed to Giovanni Francesco da Rimini, The Visitation Italian, c. 1425-1450 Paris, Musée du Louvre, Département des Peintures |
 |
| +Fra Angelico, The Visitation Italian, c. 1433-1434 Cortona, Museo Diocesano |
_Ger,%20c.%201440_Bayerische%20Staatsgem%C3%A4ldesammlungen%20-%20Staatsgalerie%20in%20der%20Neuen%20Residenz%20Bamberg.jpg) |
| * Master of the Heisterbacher Altar (with Stefan Lochner), The Visitation German, c. 1440 Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Staatsgalerie in der Neuen Residenz Bamberg |
 |
| *Stained Glass Window Fragment, The Visitation German, 1444 New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art |
 |
| * Dirk Bouts, The Visitation From the Life of the Virgin Altarpiece Flemish, c. 1445 Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado |
 |
| +Michele Giambono, The Visitation Italian, c.1451 Venice, Basilica di San Marco, Mascoli Chapel |
 |
| *Master of the Freising Visitation, The Visitation _German, Late 15th Century Augsburg, Cathedral |
 |
| *Adriaen van Wesel, The Visitation Dutch, c. 1475-1477 Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum |
,%20c.%201475-1500_Frankfurt,%20Universitaetsbibliothek_MS%20germ.%20qu.%20100,%20fol.%2077r.jpg) |
| * The Visitation From a Speculum humanae salvationis German (Bavarian), c. 1475-1500 Frankfurt, Universitaetsbibliothek MS germ. qu. 100, fol. 77r |
 |
| *Workshop of Burkhard Engelberg, The Visitation German, 1486 Augsburg, Cathedral Cloister |
 |
| * School of Avignon, The Visitation French, c. 1497-1508 Paris, Musée du Louvre, Département des Peintures |
 |
| *Hans Suess von Kulmbach, The Visitation German, c. 1500-1525 Bamberg, Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Staatsgalerie in der Neuen Residenz Bamberg |
 |
| *Master of the Oberschoenenfelder Altar, The Visitation German, c. 1500 OttobeurenBayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Staatsgalerie in der Benediktinerabtei Ottobeuren |
With varying amounts of narrative detail included in the images, and a greater number of subsidiary figures, this is the strain that has dominated the largest number of images of the Visitation up through the mid-twentieth century. Among the subsidiary figures one can find: Zechariah, of course, but also, Joseph, assorted saints, Old Testament prophets, New Testament evangelists, serving maids and men, onlookers from different eras, donors, angels and allegorical figures, as well as, in some paintings, figures who seem to be totally unrelated to the scene.
 |
| *Master of the Marienleben Altar, The Visitation with Johann von Hirtz German, c. 1470-1480 Munich, Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Alte Pinakothek |
 |
| +Domenico Ghirlandaio, The Visitation Italian, c. 1486-1490 Florence, Church of Santa Maria Novella, Tornabuoni Chapel |
 |
| +Piero di Cosimo, The Visitation with Saint Nicholas and Saint Anthony Abbot Italian, c.1489-1490 Washington, National Gallery of Art, Samuel H. Kress Collection |
 | ||
| Attributed to Alexander-Bening, The Visitation Single Leaf from a Book of Hours Flemish, c.1490 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library and Museum MS G 10 recto
|
 | ||||
| Jean Poyer, The Visitation from Hours of Henry VIII French (Tours), c. 1495-1505 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library and Museum MS H 8, fol.40v
|
 |
| +Vittore Carpaccio, The Visitation Italian, c. 1504-1506 Venice, Galleria Franchetti, Ca d'oro |
 |
| +Mariotto Albertinelli, The Visitation Italian, 1503 Florence, Gallerie degli' Uffizi |
 |
| +Master MS, The Visitation Hungarian, 1506 Budapest, Magyar Nemzeti Galeria |
 |
| Master of the Ango Hours, The Visitation from a Prayer Book French (Rouen), c. 1515-1525 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS NAL 83, fol. 23v |
 |
| *Lorenzo Bregno, The Visitation Italian, c. 1515 Treviso, Cathedral |
,%20Giulio%20Romano%20(figs),%20Giovanni%20Francesco%20Penni%20(ls)_Italian,%201517_Madrid,%20Museo%20Nacional%20del%20Prado.jpg) |
| +Giulio Romano and Giovanni Francesco Penni from a Design by Raphael. The Visitation Italian, c.1517 Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado |
 |
| Sebastiano del Piombo, Visitation Italian, 1521 Paris, Musée du Louvre, Département des Peintures |
 |
| *Adriaen Isenbrant, The Visitation Flemish, After 1521 New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art |
 |
| *Giovanni della Robbia, The Visitation Italian, c. 1525 Pistoia, Ospedale del Ceppo |
 |
| +Jacopo Pontormo, The Visitation Italian, c. 1528-1529 Carmignano, Church of San Michele |
 |
| *Juan Correa de Vivar, The Visitation Spanish, c. 1530-1540 Paris, Musée du Louvre, Département des Peintures |
 |
| *Raffaello da Montlupo, The Visitation Italian, 1533 Loreto, Basilica of the Holy House |
 |
| *Master of the Legend of Saint Crispin, The Visitation German, c. 1534 Regensburg, Historisches Museum |
 |
| Francesco Salviati, The Visitation Italian, 1538 Rome, Oratory of San Giovanni Decollato |
 |
| Giulio Clovio, The Visitation and the Meeting of Justice and Peace from the Farnese Hours Italian, 1546 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M 69, fol.17v-18r |
 |
| *Michiel Coxie, The Visitation Flemish, Before 1550 Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado |
 |
| Tintoretto, The Visitation Italian, c.1549 Bologna, Pinacoteca Nazionale |
 | ||
| Pellegrino Tebaldi, The Visitation with Saints Joseph and Jerome Italian, c. 1550-1560 Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum
|
 | ||
| Tintoretto, The Visitation Italian, c.1588 Venice, Scuola di San Rocco
|
 |
| +Peter Paul Rubens, The Visitation Flemish, c. 1611-1613 London, The Courtauld Gallery |
 |
| *Juan del Castillo, The Visitation Spanish, c. 1630-1640 Saint Petersburg, State Hermitage Museum |
 |
| *Alessandro Turchi, The Visitation Italian, c. 1631-1635 Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado |
 |
| Guercino, The Visitation Italian, 1632 Rouen, Musée des Beaux-Arts |
 |
| *Jacques Callot, The Visitation From Les Images de Tous Les Saincts et Saintes de l'Annee French, 1636 New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Department of Drawings and Prints |
 |
| *Jan Lievens, The Visitation Dutch, c. 1638-1640 Paris, Musée du Louvre, Département des Peintures |
 |
| *Jacob Jordaens, The Visitation Flemish, 1642 Paris, Musée du Louvre, Département des Peintures |
 |
| *Tobias Pock, The Visitation German, c. 1645 Dresden, Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister |
 |
| +The LeNain Brothers (Mathieu and Antoine), The Visitation French, c.1650 Saint-Denis de Pile, Church of Saint Denis |
 |
| *David Teniers the Younger, The Visitation Flemish, c. 1650-1690 Munich, Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Alte Pinakothek |
 |
| Michel Corneille, the Elder, The Visitation French, c.1650 Blois, Musée des Beaux-Arts |
 | ||
| David Teniers, The Visitation Dutch, c.1651-1660 Glasgow, Museums Resource Center
|
 |
| *Pierre Puget, The Visitation French, 1659 Aix-en-Provence, Musée Granet |
 |
| *Jose Moreno, The Visitation Spanish, c. 1662 Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado |
 |
| Luca Giordano, The Visitation Italian, c,1670 London, Guildhall Art Gallery |
 |
| *Jeronimo Antonio Ezquerra, The Visitation Spanish, c. 1700 Malaga, Museo Carmen Thyssen |
 |
| *Van der Werff, The Visitation Dutch, 1708 Munich, Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Alte Pinakothek |
 |
| *Nicolas Vleighels, The Visitation French, 1709 Saint Petersburg, State Hermitage Museum |
 |
| +Michelangelo Unterberger, The Visitation Austrian, c.1740 Budapest, Museum of Fine Arts |
 |
| *Workshop of Johann Baptist Zimmermann, The Visitation German, 1741 Dietramszell, Church of the Assumption |
 |
| +Ubaldo Gandolfi, The Visitation Italian, c. 1767 Private Collection |
 |
| *Louis-Jean-Francois LaGrenee, The Visitation French, 1781 Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado |
Toward the middle of the nineteenth century the tendency to
overpopulate the scene diminished and artists once more focused on the simple
meeting of two women, each the mother of a very special son.
 |
| Antonio Canova, The Visitation Italian, c. 1821-1822 Venice, Gallerie dell'Accademia |
 |
| +Carl Heinrich Bloch, The Visitation Danish, 1865-1879 Frederiksborg, Palace Chapel |
 |
| +James Tissot, The Visitation French, 1886-1894 New York, Brooklyn Museum |
 |
| Maurice Denis, The Visitation French, 1894 Saint Petersburg, State Hermitage Museum |
 |
| Odilon Redon, The Visitation French, c.1900 Paris, Musée d'Orsay |
 |
| Mario Toppi, The Visitation Italian, Before 1953 Cleveland, Museum of Art |
By the mid-twentieth century attention was once again firmly focused on the figures of Mary and Elizabeth.
 |
| The Visitation Austrian, 1960 Augsburg, Church of Saint John Bosco |
This includes an image that doesn't really fit among the five categories I have discerned, but which, in its delicate simplicity sums up the relationship of Mary and Elizabeth and underlines their status as "blessed among women" is the image below by the English artist Robert Anning Bell. Entitled, Mary in the House of Elizabeth, it depicts the two expectant mothers sitting side by side. Elizabeth is reading what looks like a small prayer book, while Mary sews.
 |
| +Robert Anning Bell, Mary in the House of Elizabeth English, 1917 London, Tate Gallery |
All seems quite normal and mundane, with nothing to distinguish them from thousands of other women, until one notices the angel who has parted the curtains of the arched doorway and kneels in veneration behind it. Quietly, subtly, the artist evokes our own awed reaction.
The Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary is May 31st.
See also: The Kneeling Elizabeth
Acts of Blessing
Visible Babies
The Magnificat
See also: The Kneeling Elizabeth
Acts of Blessing
Visible Babies
The Magnificat
+ Indicates updated image.
* Indicated newly added image
Scripture texts in this
work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986,
1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. and are used by
permission of the copyright owner. All Rights Reserved. No part of the New
American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from
the copyright owner.