Today is the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In plain English, it's Mary's birthday.
Lots of Catholics have a soft spot for Mary, and lots of Catholic converts and reverts had a soft spot for her well before they came into the Church. I'm one of those. She has had her gentle guiding hand on my back all my life.
Photos: The Church of St. Ann in Jerusalem, purported to be the site of Mary's birth. January 2010.