The Other Faces of Mary Stories, Devotions, and Pictures of the Holy Virgin from Around the World

Many of us have an "image" of Mary that comes immediately to mind when we offer prayers to the intercession of the Blessed Mother of Jesus. In my mind, Mary looks a lot like a younger version of many of the important women in my own life. For many, images of classic Madonnas by Rafael or sweet holy card remembrances are the face of Mary. Despite her "look", worldwide devotion to Mary remains constant. As distant lands have come closer through the wonder of air travel and the Internet, new doors have been opened and many of us seek to learn more about the practice of Catholicism in other parts of the world. Watching the sea of humanity present at the recent events at the Vatican, I marveled at the flags and faces representing so many fellow Christians from around the globe. The universality of our faith struck me as I watched an Italian mother, a young Caucasian and an African gentleman all clutch their rosaries in the moments leading up to the announcement of Pope Benedict XVI's papacy. Thanks to a wonderful new book by Ann Ball, we can learn more about stories, devotions and images of Mary from around the world. In The Other Faces of Mary (Crossroads, December 2004, paperback, 160 pages), Ball introduces us to Mary through the eyes of our fellow Catholics in places such as Vietnam, Nigeria, India, Japan and more. Ball and the many contributors to this book share with us a beautiful gift - the wonderful pictures that accompany the stories and reflections in this book left me wanting to travel to these places and see my own Faith through fresh eyes.