St. Luke tells us that Elizabeth was Mary’s kinswoman (syngenis), a term that simply means a female relative. Some early writers thought them cousins, whose mothers were sisters, but Scripture doesn’t provide that detail. Elizabeth, like her husband, was from a priestly family (Lk. 1:5). This indicates that Mary, also, was “a daughter of Aaron.” Whatever the actual degree of relationship, the close kinship is indicated by the familiarity which the two women show each other.