wow me and wikapedia must be bigots and lying?
The New Testament Gospels, composed during the late 1st century, contain the first references to the life of Mary; the NT Epistles, composed earlier, make no mention of her by name. There are, however, references to Mary in the Epistles, most notably in
Galatians.[SUP]
[6][/SUP]
In the 2nd century, St. Irenaeus of Lyons called Mary the "second Eve" because through Mary and her willing acceptance of God's choice, God undid the harm that was done through Eve's choice to eat the forbidden fruit. The earliest recorded prayer to Mary, the
sub tuum praesidium, is dated in its earliest form to the middle of the 3rd century.