Mary Magdalene, St, also called Mary of Magdala 1st century BC-1st century AD
Early follower of Jesus Christ

Mary Magdalene was born probably in Magdala on the west coast of the sea of Galilee, hence her name. Luke 8.2 reports that Jesus exorcized seven evil spirits from her, and throughout the Church's history she has epitomized the archetypal repentant sinner. She features also in the narratives of Jesus's passion and resurrection as, seemingly with other women, she was present at the Cross and later at the empty tomb. Most memorably, as related in John 20 and Mark 16, she was the first to encounter the risen Lord, who appeared to her in the garden of his burial; blinded by her tears, she at first supposed him to be the gardener. Her cult was influenced greatly by her identification with Mary the sister of Martha (John 11-12) and also with the woman in Luke 7 who anointed Jesus's feet and dried them with her hair. However, nowadays these are thought to be three separate people. One tradition holds that she accompanied St John the Evangelist to Ephesus where she later died and was buried. Her feast day is 22 July.