Beuronese Murals - The Visitation  The Visitation of Mary to
Elizabeth  After the Annunciation, Mary went with haste to a
Judaean town in the hill country, where she visited her pregnant
cousin, Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the
child in her womb, John the Baptist, leapt with joy. The story
is told in Luke (1:39-42). The basilica mural of "The
Visitation" shows Mary greeting her cousin just outside the
house of Elizabeth and Zachary.  Elizabeth said, "How is it that
the mother of my Lord should come to me?" Her kneeling position
is a sign of her humility before the Lord and his mother. The
two pregnant women, framed by the palm tree, are flanked on one
side by a hatted Joseph, with his walking stick and donkey (all
of which will appear in the panel of "The Flight into Egypt"),
and Zachary, depicted as an aged person (as Elizabeth and
Zachary invariably were). Mary's response to Elizabeth's
question is the text of the Magnificat, the canticle sung daily
at Evening Prayer (Luke 1:46-55).  You