Virgin Mary

In Christianity, the Virgin Mary is the mother of Jesus Christ, whom Christians believe is the son of God and savior of humankind. According to the New Testament, God sent the archangel Gabriel to visit Mary and inform her that she will conceive a son and name him Jesus, a responsibility that she graciously accepts.

For Christians, the incarnation and birth of Jesus to Mary while she was still a virgin exemplifies God's ability to make the impossible, possible. Although theological perspectives about Mary herself vary greatly, she is venerated as a saint and intercessor under numerous titles and devotions in Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran traditions. She is also venerated in Islam, and has her own book in the Q’uran. Some of these devotions include apparitions of Mary, where she is said to have appeared to different people throughout history and helped work miracles, often during times of crisis.

She's most widely petitioned through the Christian prayer, the Hail Mary. This prayer asks her to pray for God’s intercession on one's behalf, and is traditionally invoked when worried or desperate. The text of the prayer is as follows:

"Hail Mary, full of grace,
The Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women,
And blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, mother of God,
Pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.”

The Virgin Mary has appeared in Eyeshield 21 on two occasions: once during the Deimon Devil Bats' game against the Shinryuuji Nagas, and again during the Christmas Bowl. Each time, an apparition of Mary is shown floating in the sky above Hiruma as he prepares to throw a "Hail Mary pass" to Monta. This long forward pass is named after the above prayer, both for its near-impossible trajectory and for being a sign of a quarterback's desperation.

During the first instance, Hiruma subverts this expectation at the last moment. He shouts "DEVILS HAVE NO NEED FOR HEAVEN!", then throws the pass low.