St. Mary Magdalene

From the town of Magdala on the Sea of Galilee, Mary was healed by Jesus of seven demons and followed him from Galilee to Jerusalem, providing for him and the Twelve out of her own means. The Gospels place her at the foot of the cross when the apostles, with one exception, had fled.

She came to the tomb in the dark of Easter morning, found the stone rolled away, and was the first witness to the Risen Christ. He spoke her name — "Mary" — and sent her to the apostles with the news. The early Church called her the apostola apostolorum, the apostle to the apostles.

In 2016 Pope Francis raised her commemoration to the rank of feast, on equal footing with the apostles — a recognition of the role she has held in the Church’s memory from the very beginning.