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Saint Mary Magdalene:
Feast day : 22 July
According to tradition, after the execution of the Apostle Saint James in Jerusalem, it is believed that Saint Mary Magdalene along-with her brother Lazarus, Maximin (one of the 72 disciples of Jesus) and a few others were imprisoned by the Jews. Since they were afraid of the crowds, the Jews did not execute them; instead they put them on a boat without sails or rudders or food supplies and towed them off the shores of Palestine. They were abandoned to the harsh seas to die. After several days at sea, they safely arrived at Camargue, France to a small village in Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer. From there, Mary Magdalene and her brother Lazarus, Maximin and Cedonius travelled on to Marseille where Mary is believed to have preached the Gospel and converted the local people to Christianity. Lazarus became the first Bishop of Marseille whilst Maximin went on to become the first Bishop of Aix. 
Today the Church celebrates the feast of Saint Mary Magdalene, a penitent sinner who rose from her sinful ways to become the one chosen by the Lord to be present at His Crucifixion and at the empty tomb to announce His Resurrection to the apostles, thereby earning her the title ‘Apostle to the Apostles’. Her transformation gives hope to all mankind of how the mercy and love of God can restore us back to holiness, provided we place our faith and love in Him. She is believed to have spent the last thirty years of her life in the mountains of Sainte-Baume, France, living a life of prayer and penance. Her tomb was discovered in the year 1279 by Charles II, King of Naples and a shrine was built on the spot of her remains. Her relics which include her skull and a piece of incorrupt skin of her forehead called “noli me tangere,” meaning ‘touch me not’ which according to the Gospel of John were the words spoken by Jesus to Mary after His Resurrection, are kept in the Shrine.
Scriptures:
Saint Mary Magdalene is mentioned in the Gospels to be present at the Crucifixion and the Resurrection of Christ. She is also mentioned in Luke 8:2 as “Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out...” Though there are several other references of a Mary of Bethany (sister of Martha and Lazarus) and a sinful woman (Luke 7:36-50), it is not fully authenticated whether they are the same person. Whilst the Eastern Orthodox Church believes that the three women are different individuals, the Western Church believes that all the three women are one and the same, Mary Magdalene. But through all these instances in the Scriptures, the Church recognises an image of a penitent sinner who after having an encounter with Jesus was filled with Divine love for Him and abandoned her sinful ways. Her ardent love and faith in Him merited her to become the one chosen by the Lord to be present at the empty tomb and proclaim the good news of His Resurrection to His apostles.
Tradition:
Later Mary is believed to have retired to a cave in the mountains of Sainte-Baume and to have spent the last thirty years of her life in prayer and penance. In her cave, she is believed to have been lifted up by the angels seven times a day at the canonical hours to be fed heavenly nourishment. When the time of her death arrived, she was carried by angels to the oratory of Maximin where she received her Viaticum. She died in Maximin’s arms and her body was laid in an alabaster sarcophagus in an oratory he constructed in the Gallo Roman town of Villa Latta which after the death of Maximin became known as St. Maximin.
Years later, on hearing the legends surrounding Mary Magdalene, Charles II, King of Naples and Count of Provence (1254-1309) ordered excavations at St.Maximin to locate her relics. Mary’s sarcophagus was located on 10 December 1279 in a marble tomb deep inside the earth. When he tried to open it a wonderful smell of perfume filled the air. Inside lay her body remains except for the jaw bone. There was a small piece of skin attached to her skull in the spot where Jesus touched her after His Resurrection. The bishops who witnessed the excavation called the piece of skin “noli me tangere,” meaning ‘touch me not’ which according to the Gospel of John were the words spoken by Jesus to Mary after His Resurrection. They realized that through the miracle of Jesus’ touch, the skin was still alive. Those in charge of the relics carefully sealed the 'noli me tangere' in a glass vase.
Inside the sarcophagus, a note on a papyrus was found that said “The year of the birth of the Lord 710, the sixth day of December, at night and very secretly, under the reign of the very pious Eudes, King of the Franks, during the time of the ravages of the treacherous nation of Saracens, her relics, for fear of being destroyed, were moved from her alabaster tomb to the marble tomb, after having removed the body of Cedonius because it was more hidden.”
There was a wood tablet too inscribed with the words “Hic requiescit corpus beatae Mariae Magdalenae” meaning “here lies the body of Mary Magdalene”. The wood piece was estimated to be made between the 1st and 4th centuries. The missing lower jaw bone was located at St. John Lateran in Rome, where it had been venerated for centuries and it was reunited with the rest of the body on April 6, 1295.
Devotion:
The Shrine of Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume in France is dedicated to Saint Mary Magdalene. The shrine was built on the spot where her remains were discovered by Charles II in the year 1279. Her relics which include her skull and a piece of skin that were discovered in her tomb are kept in the Shrine. Every year on her feast day on July 22, the reliquary carrying her skull is carried through the streets in a candle light procession. Thousands of pilgrims including kings and Popes have visited the Shrine over the centuries to seek her intercession in their needs. Read more about the Shrine at Shrine of Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume