On the twenty-second of July, the Church keeps the feast of St. Mary Magdalene, the woman who stood at the Cross when nearly everyone else had fled, and who, on Easter morning, became the first person in the world to see the risen Lord. The ancient title the Church gives her says it plainly: the Apostle of the Apostles, the one sent to the ones who would be sent.
Jesus saith to her: Mary. She turning, saith to him: Rabboni (which is to say, Master).John 20:16, Douay-Rheims
The woman the Gospels actually describe
Ask most people about Mary Magdalene and they will tell you she was the repentant prostitute. It is worth saying gently and clearly: the Gospels never say that. The picture comes from an old Western tradition, traceable to a homily of Pope St. Gregory the Great in the sixth century, that folded three different Gospel women into one: Mary of Magdala, Mary of Bethany, and the unnamed sinful woman who wept at the feet of Jesus. The Church today reads them as the Scriptures give them, three women, and lets the Magdalene be herself.
And who she is, on the Gospels' own testimony, is striking enough. She came from Magdala, a fishing town on the Sea of Galilee. St. Luke tells us that Jesus had cast seven demons out of her, a deliverance so total that her whole life became an answer to it. She joined the company that traveled with Him, one of the women who provided for Him out of their own means. Whatever her captivity had been, her freedom took the form of following.
The one who stayed
When the test came, the following held. On Good Friday, when the Twelve had scattered, she was standing by the Cross of Jesus with His Mother. She watched where He was buried. And before dawn on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, she was back at the tomb, not because she hoped for anything, but because love keeps vigil even when it has run out of reasons. She had come to anoint a body.
What she found was an empty tomb and, through her tears, a man she took for the gardener. Then He said her name. One word, Mary, and the whole world turned over. Her answer was one word too: Rabboni. It is the quietest scene in all the Resurrection accounts, and perhaps the most piercing: the risen Lord of the universe, and the first thing He does with His victory is call one grieving woman by name.
Apostle of the apostles
Then He gave her a task: go to my brethren and tell them. She went, and her announcement, “I have seen the Lord,” is the first Easter proclamation ever made. The early Church saw exactly what that meant. St. Thomas Aquinas, among others, called her apostolorum apostola, the apostle of the apostles, because she was sent to the very men who would be sent to the world. In 2016, Pope Francis raised her memorial to the rank of a feast, the same rank the calendar gives the apostles themselves, so that the liturgy now says what the tradition long knew.
For those of us who pray the Rosary, she is not a stranger. She stands inside two of its mysteries: at the foot of the Cross in the Sorrowful, and in the garden of the Resurrection where the Glorious begin. To pray those decades is to stand where she stood, first in the grief, then in the astonishment.
Keeping her feast
You need not do anything grand to honor her today. Pray the Glorious Mysteries and linger in the first of them, the garden before sunrise, listening for your own name. Offer a decade for someone whose faith has gone dark and who keeps showing up anyway. Or simply pause and ask her help:
St. Mary Magdalene, whom the Lord set free and called by name, teach us to stay at the Cross, to keep vigil when hope runs thin, and to carry the news of the risen Christ to everyone we meet. Amen.
She went to the tomb carrying what her hands could hold, and came away carrying the greatest news ever told. If you would like something to hold in your own hands while you pray, our handmade rosaries are made for exactly that.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was St. Mary Magdalene?
A woman from Magdala, on the Sea of Galilee, whom Jesus freed from seven demons. She followed Him through His ministry, stood by His Cross, and on Easter morning became the first witness of the Resurrection, sent to announce it to the apostles.
Was St. Mary Magdalene a prostitute?
The Gospels never say so. That image comes from an old Western tradition that merged her with Mary of Bethany and with the unnamed sinful woman of Luke 7. The Church today distinguishes the three women, and the Scriptures describe Mary Magdalene as a woman delivered from seven demons who became a faithful disciple and the first witness of the risen Christ.
When is the feast of St. Mary Magdalene?
July 22. In 2016 Pope Francis raised the celebration from a memorial to a feast, the same liturgical rank given to the apostles.
Why is she called the Apostle of the Apostles?
Because the risen Jesus sent her to announce His Resurrection to the apostles themselves (John 20:17–18). The title, apostolorum apostola, is ancient and was used by St. Thomas Aquinas among others.
