About Today for

July 22

Saint Mary Magdalene

Feast

Mary Magdalene lived in the first century. She was the leader of the women who accompanied Jesus and the apostles on their journeys. She was present at Jesus’ crucifixion, burial and resurrection. Jesus sent her to announce the resurrection to the others, and so she was called the “apostle of the apostles.” From early times, she has been identified as the woman who anointed Jesus’ feet in Simon’s house and with Mary, the sister of Martha; however, most contemporary scholars now abandon this connection. Mary Magdalene is the patron saint of the contemplative life and of women.[1][2]

Written by Sarah Ciotti
Reviewed by Fr. Hugh Feiss, OSB, STD
[1] F.L. Cross and E.A. Livingstone, The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (London: Oxford University Press, 1974), 186.
[2] Fr. Hugh Feiss, OSB, The Martyrology of the Monastery of the Ascension, 2008.