Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume, France - The Shrine of Mary Magadalene:

11 July 2019

The Shrine of Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume in France is dedicated to Saint Mary Magdalene, one of the ardent followers of Jesus Christ who is mentioned in all the four Gospels at both the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus. 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.

Tradition:

After the execution of the Apostle Saint James in Jerusalem, it is believed that she alongwith 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.

Mary is believed to have retired to a cave in the mountains of Sainte-Baume and 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.

Excavation of relics:

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, the body of the dear and venerable St. Mary Magadalene was, for fear of the said treacherous nation, 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.

Preservation of relics in the Shrine:

Pope Boniface VIII published the pontifical bull for the establishment of the Dominicans at La Sainte Baume and at St. Maximin. In 1295, Charles II began building the Basilica of Saint Mary Magdalene over the spot where her remains were found. Though the construction of the Church was started in 1295, it wasn’t completed until 1532 because of the devastation caused by The Black Death. A Dominican priory was built in St. Maximin as well as a little priory at La Sainte Baume, the cave where she is believed to have lived 30 years of her life.

In 1793 during the French Revolution the shrine was broken into and the relics thrown about. The basilica at St. Maximin was saved from utter destruction by transforming it into a government store placing over the great doors the words – Fournitures Militaires or “Military Supplies.”Joseph Bastide, sacristan of St. Maximin, removed the skull of Mary Magdalene along with the 'noli me tangere'. After the Revolution, Bastide brought his treasure to the Archbishop. Less than a century later, a gold reliquary was created to house the skull with its golden hair carried by four golden angels. Today there is a special place below the skull where the reliquary holds the glass vial containing the precious ‘nole me tangere’.

Since then thousands of pilgrims visit the shrine to seek her intercession in their needs. Every year a mass in held in honor of Saint Mary’s on her feast day July 22nd. Before the Mass, people parade through Saint Maximin-la-Sainte- Baume in costumes with flutes, drums and carry the golden reliquary through the streets of St. Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume in a candlelight procession with songs and prayers.