Saint Mary Magdalene

A woman who funded Jesus's ministry

Mary Magdalene takes her name from Magdala, a town in northern Galilee. According to the Gospels, Jesus cleansed her of seven demons, after which she became one of several women who financially supported his ministry, traveling alongside him and the other disciples and helping care for the group's material needs.

Present at the cross when others had fled

All four canonical Gospels agree on a detail many of the male disciples could not claim: Mary Magdalene witnessed both the crucifixion and the burial of Jesus. She remained at the foot of the cross even as most of his followers had already scattered, staying with him through the crucifixion's full course when leaving would have been far easier and far safer.

The first person to see him after the resurrection

According to John's Gospel, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb while it was still dark and found the stone already rolled away. She ran to tell Peter and the "beloved disciple," who confirmed the tomb was empty, but it was Mary who stayed behind and became the first to encounter the risen Jesus directly. "Jesus said to her, 'Mary.' She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, 'Rabboni!' (which means 'Teacher')" (John 20:16, NIV). He then gave her a specific instruction: "Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God'" (John 20:17, NIV). She obeyed immediately: "Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: 'I have seen the Lord!'" (John 20:18, NIV).

The Apostle to the Apostles

Because she was the first to carry news of the resurrection to the other apostles, Saint Thomas Aquinas honored her with the title "Apostle to the Apostles" — first witness, and first messenger, of the event at the very center of Christian faith. Later tradition, particularly in the West, conflated her with two other women in the Gospels, Mary of Bethany and an unnamed penitent sinner; modern scholars generally regard the three as distinct figures, restoring Mary Magdalene's story to what the Gospels themselves record: a woman who stayed when others left, and who was trusted first with the news that mattered most.