Visitation: Mary visits Elizabeth

# Visitação: Maria visita Isabel

**Visitação** (Lucas 1,39-56) refers to Mary’s visit to her cousin Elizabeth in Ain Carim after the *Anunciation*. It is the context for the *Magnificat* and one of the most richologically significant episodes from Jesus’ infancy. For a full article: *The Visitation*.

## The Acclamation of Elizabeth

Upon hearing Mary’s greeting, Elizabeth exclaimed, filled with the Holy Spirit: “Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb! How does this happen to me that the mother of my Lord should come to visit me?” John the Baptist leapt in his mother’s womb. Elizabeth calls Jesus “my Lord” before he is born, one of the earliest acts of faith in Christ’s lordship.

## Mary as a Missionary

The Visitation is interpreted as Mary’s first missionary act: she brings Christ, who has just been conceived, to Elizabeth and John. This gesture serves as a model for all Christian mission: to bring Christ to others, not merely through words but with the incarnate presence of love.

## Three Months with Elizabeth

Luke notes that Mary “stayed with her about three months” (Lk 1,56). This detail highlights Mary’s practical and persistent service: she did not simply visit but stayed to accompany Elizabeth until John’s birth.

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