St George’s Day is coming up on Tuesday, 23 April. Does anybody care?

The many images of Jesus eating with the Twelve Apostles on the night before he died might dominate our imagination. But the gospels suggest that a wider circle of followers shared his last Passover meal – and it is unthinkable that women were excluded.

A biblical scholar compares the Vatican’s cautious opening to couples in relationships disapproved of by the Church to the expansive generosity Jesus showed to those the religious leaders of his day considered sexual sinners.

Mary Ward, founder of the Congregation of Jesus, set out for Rome for the first time on 21 October 1621, seeking papal approval for her new institute. A writer and hiker describes the journey she made on foot from Whitby to the Bar Convent in York in her honour.

It’s the shortest of the four gospels, has no infancy stories, and ends abruptly. Yet for richness, suspense and eyewitness detail Mark often surpasses the other accounts of Jesus’ life.

Mary: Bearer of Life CHRISTOPHER COCKSWORTH (SCM, 208 PP, £19.99) tablet bookshop price £17.99 • tel 020 7799 4064 Mary, Mother of God: In Search of the Woman Who Changed History GRZEGORZ GÓRNY and JANUSZ ROSIKON (IGNATIUS PRESS, 400 PP, £28.50) tablet bookshop price £25.65• tel 020 7799 4064

Christians in the East and the West have celebrated the feast of the bodily Assumption of Mary into heaven on 15 August for centuries. Now a scripture scholar suggests it is time for a change of focus to reflect better the place of the mother of Jesus in the post-conciliar Church.

The dramatic events of 60 years ago, when the death of Pope John XXIII in June 1963 was followed by a conclave in which the work of the Second Vatican Council hung in the balance, were chronicled by the journalist and church historian Peter Hebblethwaite. His wife, the writer and theologian Margaret Hebblethwaite, has edited his account and added her own reflections.

There is no mention of the mother of Jesus being present at the Crucifixion in the synoptic gospels. Or have we been misreading the texts describing the group of women followers from Galilee who were at his death and subsequently went to the tomb? / By MARGARET HEBBLETHWAITE

Every Catholic knows the ‘Hail Mary’ by heart. But we need a translation that is less archaic and more accurate / By MARGARET HEBBLETHWAITE

Margaret Hebblethwaite was disappointed when she learnt who was to become Pope but her attitude swiftly changed.

Mary makes the decisive Fiat – ‘let it be’ – that allows the Incarnation to take place only in the gospel according to Luke and, while scholars may now dismiss the idea, it is not unreasonable to think that Mary herself is the source for this account.

Although antisemitism has now been eliminated from the famous German passion play, the production needs a re-balancing based on gender before the next performances in 2030.

A pilgrimage that included a walk through a grove of ancient yew trees was both a history lesson and celebration of the Feast of Corpus Christi

After his Resurrection, Jesus showed himself first to Mary of Magdala. But his disconcerting words to her are usually misunderstood. In fact, they reveal the heart of the Easter mystery.