St. Mary Magdalene

Mary Magdalene has always been honored as the patron of penitents. The appellation Magdalene or Magdalen most likely comes from Magdala near Tiberias which was on the west shore of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus cast seven devils from Mary Magadalen and she became His devoted follower (Mark 16: 9, Luke 8:2-3). She was the first to see the risen Christ and some Fathers of the Church called her an apostle to the Apostles for she delivered to them the news of Christ’s resurrection. Scholars debate whether Mary Magadalen was the same woman as the sinful woman who washed the feet of Jesus with her tears and dries them with her hair in Luke 7: 36-50; it is also not know for certain if Mary Magadalen is Mary the sister of Martha and Lazarus. Many scholars hold that she can be identified with both the sinner who washed the feet of Jesus and with the sister of Martha and Lazarus. A legend, which most scholars discount, recounts that after Pentecost Mary Magdalen traveled with Martha and Lazarus to Gaul (France) where she ended her days as a solitary penitent. There is no evidence that Lazarus, Martha, or Mary Magdalen traveled to Gaul, but relics of the saint are believed to rest in the church of La Sainte-Baume. The Greek Church holds that Mary Magdalen went with the Blessed Mother and St. John to Ephesus and died there. Her feast day is July 22.