If I understand Catholic theology correctly, it would not be correct to identify the Virgin Mary as a "deity," but nevertheless she is a very significant spiritual entity who serves as intercessor, and who is worthy of reverence (although only God is worthy of worship).

We also shouldn't forget the distinction between a religion's officially promulgated form and the beliefs and actions of ordinary worshippers-- devotion to the Virgin Mary is very common among both male and female Catholics, I think. In some cases this also has a nationalist aspect, e.g., the devotion to the Virgin of Guada- lupe and Our Lady of Czestochowa.

The patron saint of France is St. Joan of Arc, and the unsuccessful French Revolutionary attempt to create a synthetic religion included Goddesses of Liberty and Reason. And Marianne is a kind of secular goddess too.

-(Y)