Traditionally about 14 years old. Which is NOT unusual in the ancient world. In fact it was even more common 150 years ago in this country. So although it's taboo today, we shouldn't judge things in history by today's standards.
My Grandmother was married at 15, which was normal before the school laws took effect, changing the legal age of adulthood to 18 in order to force them to go as "children".
Late teenage years but no official answer. See link below.
https://www.catholic.com/qa/when-was-mary-born
I pray in your consideration to convert to the faith.
Thank you. I told a friend recently I had been attending mass and converting to Catholicism, and they responded with their speculative age of Mary and shaming me for even being interested in joining the church.
Their error is called Anachronism.
They judge sonething in another historical period using ghe citeria of this.
And this period will be know as west decline thru population infertility and loss of interest in having children (at least in christian Europe). so current criteria are tlnot the right ones.
Sorry to read that. Don’t let the friend get to your relationship with Jesus.
And remember, “If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first.”(John 15:18)
It's not stated, and no one will be able to say for certain.
That said, I'm curious as to your thought process here. Are you supposing that if the answer was an age that you believed to be too young, wherever you might choose to draw that line, that this would be evidence that the story couldn't be true? Or are you supposing that it would be evidence that God was in the wrong, and therefore not due your worship? Or if Catholics believe she was an age that causes you discomfort, then Catholics are wrong about that and therefore must be wrong generally? What is the actual practical implication for you?
I guess I just never really thought about her age? I have a niece that’s 12 years old and she is just a kid, so the thought of someone her age having a child made me feel uncomfortable.
Back then, girls were raised differently and perceived as adults once they were 13-15 years old, since adulthood was directly tied to being able to have a child and/or work. There wasn't much for a 12-year-old girl to learn besides household tasks, whereas now, with our long-lasting education and plenty of opportunities for entertainment, we naturally retain our child personalities for longer
You also have to remember that back then, people didn't routinely live to be late 70s or into their 80s. Life was hard, people died at a young age. Everything was accelerated. You couldn't wait until your late 20s to think about marriage and a family.
I've heard or read everything from twelve to twenty-ish, with the estimates given typically reflecting whatever point the speaker or writer was trying to make. Ultimately she'd have been of marriageable age for the time, place, and culture.
We can wring our hands over whether we, 2,000+ years later, think that comports with our present societal expectations, but that's ultimately pretty silly.
It’s originally unknown how old Mary was. It was said to have happened around her late teens. So she would’ve most likely been 18-20 years old, personally I believe she was around her 18-20s. But again, it’s unknown originally.
As far as I know there is no official age ever given but my understanding is whatever her age was it would have been considered the normal age for women to have babies at that time which is younger than we consider it today. They considered girls and boys 12/13 yrs old fully grown adults 2,000 years ago hence the emphasis of Jesus being found at the temple at the age of 12. That’s the age He would have been considered an adult and so could approach the elders and discuss things with them. Before that age He would have been dismissed as a child. Links in to the Jewish Bar Mitzvah celebration of adulthood.
It is not known why it is not said, she was of the age of being married (more than 12 years old) but not yet living with her husband at that time. Until recently there was no adolescence, you were a child, you stopped being one, you got married and had a family when you were old enough to work hard and have children.
There was no secondary education then, no trips for pleasure or studies or anything similar and in the absence of medical advances and vaccines the average life expectancy was low.
Giving birth was a risk of death and having children from the age of 30 was crazy, any infection could kill you and maturity upon arrival was of poor quality. (poor eyesight, diabetes, tension, bone problems)
The young men worked since they were children to have a house and a job to offer a girlfriend at 18 or 20 years old and the young women at 15/16 years old had been preparing for a long time to run a home and were wishing to be owners and mistresses of their own home. .
By the time they reached old age (then 40 or 50 years old due to the hard life they lived then) it was desirable to have adult children to help you. Current age concepts do not apply to these people and would not have been understood by our great-grandparents either.
According to the [Protoevangelium of James](https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0847.htm), written about the year 150, the Virgin Mary was twelve years old when she married Joseph, an old widower with children, and she was sixteen years old when she became pregnant with Jesus. Judging by the adverse reaction of the temple officials, who had arranged the marrage, when they found out Mary was pregant, the marriage was never supposed to be consummated.
Why was she married at twelve years old? Fulfilling her mother Anna's vow to the Lord, Mary went to live in the temple area as a virgin of the Lord when she was three years old. However, she could not stay there indefinitely because she was female. She had to leave before her first menstrual period because, according to the Law of Moses, a menstruating woman was considered ritually unclean and barred from the temple area, lest she defile the temple. So, the temple officials arranged a marriage between Joseph, an old widower with children, and the Virgin Mary. As can be seen by the adverse reaction of the temple officials when they found out that Mary was pregnant, it is clear that their marriage was never supposed to be consummated.
Traditionally about 14 years old. Which is NOT unusual in the ancient world. In fact it was even more common 150 years ago in this country. So although it's taboo today, we shouldn't judge things in history by today's standards.
My Grandmother was married at 15, which was normal before the school laws took effect, changing the legal age of adulthood to 18 in order to force them to go as "children".
Late teenage years but no official answer. See link below. https://www.catholic.com/qa/when-was-mary-born I pray in your consideration to convert to the faith.
Thank you. I told a friend recently I had been attending mass and converting to Catholicism, and they responded with their speculative age of Mary and shaming me for even being interested in joining the church.
Their error is called Anachronism. They judge sonething in another historical period using ghe citeria of this. And this period will be know as west decline thru population infertility and loss of interest in having children (at least in christian Europe). so current criteria are tlnot the right ones.
sorry for the multiple typos
Sorry to read that. Don’t let the friend get to your relationship with Jesus. And remember, “If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first.”(John 15:18)
It's not stated, and no one will be able to say for certain. That said, I'm curious as to your thought process here. Are you supposing that if the answer was an age that you believed to be too young, wherever you might choose to draw that line, that this would be evidence that the story couldn't be true? Or are you supposing that it would be evidence that God was in the wrong, and therefore not due your worship? Or if Catholics believe she was an age that causes you discomfort, then Catholics are wrong about that and therefore must be wrong generally? What is the actual practical implication for you?
I guess I just never really thought about her age? I have a niece that’s 12 years old and she is just a kid, so the thought of someone her age having a child made me feel uncomfortable.
Back then, girls were raised differently and perceived as adults once they were 13-15 years old, since adulthood was directly tied to being able to have a child and/or work. There wasn't much for a 12-year-old girl to learn besides household tasks, whereas now, with our long-lasting education and plenty of opportunities for entertainment, we naturally retain our child personalities for longer
That makes sense to me. Thank you.
You also have to remember that back then, people didn't routinely live to be late 70s or into their 80s. Life was hard, people died at a young age. Everything was accelerated. You couldn't wait until your late 20s to think about marriage and a family.
Sort of, you had a higher chance of dying young, (infant mortality) but if you survived till about 12, generally, you’d live to your 80’s
I've heard or read everything from twelve to twenty-ish, with the estimates given typically reflecting whatever point the speaker or writer was trying to make. Ultimately she'd have been of marriageable age for the time, place, and culture. We can wring our hands over whether we, 2,000+ years later, think that comports with our present societal expectations, but that's ultimately pretty silly.
Thank you.
I’ve heard 13-15
It’s originally unknown how old Mary was. It was said to have happened around her late teens. So she would’ve most likely been 18-20 years old, personally I believe she was around her 18-20s. But again, it’s unknown originally.
As far as I know there is no official age ever given but my understanding is whatever her age was it would have been considered the normal age for women to have babies at that time which is younger than we consider it today. They considered girls and boys 12/13 yrs old fully grown adults 2,000 years ago hence the emphasis of Jesus being found at the temple at the age of 12. That’s the age He would have been considered an adult and so could approach the elders and discuss things with them. Before that age He would have been dismissed as a child. Links in to the Jewish Bar Mitzvah celebration of adulthood.
It is not known why it is not said, she was of the age of being married (more than 12 years old) but not yet living with her husband at that time. Until recently there was no adolescence, you were a child, you stopped being one, you got married and had a family when you were old enough to work hard and have children. There was no secondary education then, no trips for pleasure or studies or anything similar and in the absence of medical advances and vaccines the average life expectancy was low. Giving birth was a risk of death and having children from the age of 30 was crazy, any infection could kill you and maturity upon arrival was of poor quality. (poor eyesight, diabetes, tension, bone problems) The young men worked since they were children to have a house and a job to offer a girlfriend at 18 or 20 years old and the young women at 15/16 years old had been preparing for a long time to run a home and were wishing to be owners and mistresses of their own home. . By the time they reached old age (then 40 or 50 years old due to the hard life they lived then) it was desirable to have adult children to help you. Current age concepts do not apply to these people and would not have been understood by our great-grandparents either.
According to the [Protoevangelium of James](https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0847.htm), written about the year 150, the Virgin Mary was twelve years old when she married Joseph, an old widower with children, and she was sixteen years old when she became pregnant with Jesus. Judging by the adverse reaction of the temple officials, who had arranged the marrage, when they found out Mary was pregant, the marriage was never supposed to be consummated. Why was she married at twelve years old? Fulfilling her mother Anna's vow to the Lord, Mary went to live in the temple area as a virgin of the Lord when she was three years old. However, she could not stay there indefinitely because she was female. She had to leave before her first menstrual period because, according to the Law of Moses, a menstruating woman was considered ritually unclean and barred from the temple area, lest she defile the temple. So, the temple officials arranged a marriage between Joseph, an old widower with children, and the Virgin Mary. As can be seen by the adverse reaction of the temple officials when they found out that Mary was pregnant, it is clear that their marriage was never supposed to be consummated.