c. 4 B.C.

The Annunciation and birth of Christ (commonly the year 0, that is, the beginning of the calendar, since A.D. means “anno Domini,” “in the year of the Lord”).

A.D. 30

The death and resurrection of Christ.

c. A.D. 40

The first reported apparition of the Virgin Mary, who was very likely still alive when she appeared to Saint James the Greater in Saragossa, Spain.

c. A.D. 81

St. John's vision at Patmos, Greece, which served as the basis for the Book of Revelation. (There are many parallels between the “Woman Clothed with the Sun,” as described in Revelation 12, and the Virgin Mary.)

c. A.D. 238

The Virgin Mary is reported to have appeared to Saint Gregory the Wonderworker in Neocaesarea, Asia Minor (present-day Turkey).

c. A.D. 300

The date of the oldest known prayer to the Virgin Mary.

A.D. 352

The apparition of “Our Lady of the Snows” in Rome, Italy, connected to the creation of Saint Mary Major Church.

A.D. 431

Council of Ephesus in which the Virgin Mary was officially proclaimed as Theotokos, “the birth-giver of God.”

A.D. 911

The Protection of the Virgin Mary apparition at Blachernae Palace Church in a suburb of Constantinople.

1054

The Pope of Rome and the Patriarch of Constantinople excommunicate each other.

1061

The apparition at Walsingham, creation of “House of Nazareth” replica.

1204

The Crusaders sack Constantinople (during the Fourth Crusade, 1202–1204).

1382

The apparition at Czestochowa, Italy, connected to the famed Black Madonna icon.

1517

Martin Luther posts his 95 Theses.

1531

The apparition at Guadalupe, Mexico.

1560

The apparition of “Our Lady of Good Health” at Vailankanni, India.

1798

Apparition at Lavang, Vietnam.

1830

The apparition to Sister Catherine Laboure at Paris, France, that served as inspiration for the Miraculous Medal.

1854

The dogma of the Immaculate Conception proclaimed by Pope Pius IV.

1858

Apparitions at Lourdes, France, in which the Virgin Mary is reported to have said, “I am the Immaculate Conception.”

1917

Apparitions at Fatima, Portugal.

1950

Pope Pius XII proclaims the Dogma of the Assumption.

1962–64

The Second Vatican Council.

1968

Apparitions at Zeitun, Egypt.

1973

Apparitions at Akita, Japan, associated with statue that wept 101 times and also shed blood and tears.

1981

Apparitions at Medjugorje, Yugoslavia, often viewed as the fulfillment of the apparitions at Fatima.

1982

Apparitions at Damascus, Syria, associated with a myrrh-weeping icon and concerns over divisions within Christianity.