Various theories have been written about the life of Mary Magdalene (or Mary Magdalene) and her complex relationship with the father of Christianity, and it is no secret that the author Dan Brown has made a career out of it. However, most Western churches agree that Magdalene spent the rest of her days on the soil of southern France. Not far from Aix-en-Provence, in the Var department of southern France, in a medieval town called Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume, there is a basilica dedicated to Mary Magdalene, whose coffin, it is claimed, was discovered there. And inside a round glass dome, under the crypt, is traditionally preserved the skull of Magdalene. Every year, on July 22, the saint's day, many believers, some dressed in costumes, have flocked to the town for centuries, marching through its streets to the sounds of flutes, drum beats, jugglers, and horses from the nearby Camargue marshes. Immediately afterwards, a mass is held in the basilica, followed by an impressive procession, in which the sacred relic is carried, along with other relics from other churches in Europe.
July 22nd celebrations in Provence
The adventures of Mary Magdalene in Provence do not end in the town, and continue about 25 km south, to a mountain cave located on the Plain of Plagne d'Aups, La Sainte-Baume (which means the Holy Cave in Provençal). Tradition says that after the execution of James the son of Zebedee, one of Jesus' disciples (known in France as Saint Jacques), Mary Magdalene, her sister Martha, and her brother Lazarus were captured and imprisoned in Jerusalem by Jewish zealots. The Jews, who feared shedding their blood in public, dragged them to the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, and abandoned them to the mercy of the waves in a leaky boat without provisions, oars, or a sail. Mary Magdalene and her brothers were accompanied by, among others, the two mothers of Jesus' apostles, Mary of James (son of Alphaeus), and Mary Salome (mother of James and John, sons of Zebedee), along with their mistress Sarah the Cushite, in addition to a saint named Maximinus (one of Jesus' 72 disciples), and Sidonius (the blind man to whom Jesus restored his sight). After their boat had been drifting for many days at sea and had survived a severe storm, the boat miraculously landed on the shores of Gaul, at the mouth of the Rhone River in the Camargue, at a place called today, Saintes Maries de la mer (Saints Marys of the Sea). The mothers of the apostles and the servant Sarah remained in the Camargue, Martha set off for Avignon and ended her journey in Tarragona, while Mary Magdalene and the others continued their journey to Marseilles, where Mary Magdalene and her brother Lazarus persuaded all the inhabitants of the city to convert to Christianity. ProvenceWith her work complete, Mary Magdalene sailed to Aix-en-Provence, about 32 km from Marseille, where she met Maximinus, who had arrived ahead of her. Mary Magdalene decided to spend the rest of her days in a mountain cave (La Sainte-Baume) in complete seclusion.
Thirty years in which she engaged in self-reflection, prayer and penance. Seven times a day, it is said, angels carried her to heaven and fed her with heavenly food, and to commemorate the event of the ascension, the small chapel of Saint Philo was later built on the mountaintop. When Mary’s time came to say goodbye to the world, the angels carried her again, but this time to the chapel of Maximinus, where the Viaticum was held for her, which means “the ceremony of equipping for the last journey” in which it is customary to place the Holy Bread in the mouth of the deceased so that he may eat and be strengthened for his journey to the next world. Mary Magdalene, therefore, passed away from the world, in the arms of Maximinus, and her body was placed in an alabaster coffin (sarcophagus) inside the oratory built in the Gallo-Roman city of Villa Lata, which upon the death of Maximinus received his name – San Maximin.
Since 1295, Dominican monks have served as guardians of the sacred shrine. The cave on the mountain is today, in fact, a small hidden monastery called the “Holy Shrine of Mary Magdalene,” which can be reached in about an hour and a half, via two different paths through an ancient forest. At the edge of the forest stands a modest restaurant and a hotel run by Benedictine nuns of the Order of the Sacred Heart of Montmartre. The challenging path to the top of the mountain is defined as a pilgrimage, and is lined with thick trees and worn stone fragments, which have been walked on since the fifth century by many kings, popes, saints, and ordinary people who all walked the “King’s Path” to visit the cave. Upon entering the monastery, an additional climb of about 150 steps is required to reach the oak door leading to the cave, which is flanked by two pillars. The cave itself is quite large, and contains within it an impressive chapel in honor of Magdalene. On the lower level, in a niche beneath the statue of Magdalene, lies a sacred relic hall that houses the saint's tibia.
Upon his return from the Seventh Crusade, he visited the cave, King France, Louis IX (Saint Louis) and 200 years later, Louis XI succeeded him, who asked Magdalene for a son, which he received in 1470 with the birth of his son Charles VIII. In 8, Saint Louis' nephew, Charles II (Prince of Salerno and Count of Provence) discovered that Magdalene's remains were buried in the church of Saint Maximin and immediately ordered excavations to begin. On December 1279, 10, the alabaster coffin was reported to have been found deep in the ground, and upon opening it, a wonderful scent of perfume filled the air. In the coffin itself, a body was found missing its jawbone, and on a dusty, waxed wooden tablet was engraved the inscription: “Here lies the body of Mary Magdalene.” A parchment found nearby explained that in 1279 her remains were secretly moved during the night and hidden in the marble tomb of Sadunius, to prevent the Saracen Muslims from finding them. On April 710, 6, the jawbone, which had been preserved for centuries in the Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome, was taken and reunited with the body thanks to the efforts of Pope Boniface VIII. And a few years later, on the remains of the building in which Charles II had uncovered her tomb, the “Basilica of St. Mary Magdalene” was built.