Feast Of Mary Magdalene 2017: Facts About Most Controversial Woman In Bible

Catholics celebrate the feast of Mary Magdalene on July 22 every year. Although it is a day dedicated to one of the most controversial characters in the New Testament, who has been branded, a sinner, a prostitute as a well as a mysterious legend, Christians come together to celebrate the day.

Following are a few facts about the enigmatic personality on the occasion of the feast of Mary Magdalene 2017:

1. Even though Magdalene is mentioned a number of times in the New Testament, the date of her birth or death is unknown. However, her legendary character has been stressed upon in the scriptures.

2. There has been a long, raging debate regarding the character of Magdalene among Christians. While some Christians often regard Magdalene as a prostitute or sexually immoral woman, the same view is not agreed upon by the scriptures. She is considered a saint by the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran churches. She is also an important figure in the Bahá'í faith. A May 2015 article in the Catholic magazine Crux reported that Magdalene might have been a lesbian. “We don’t know if one of Jesus’ disciples had a same-sex orientation. We don’t know either if Mary Magdalene was a lesbian,” a Colombian bishop said.

3. People have also wondered whether Magdalene is the same woman who weeps and washes Jesus' feet with her hair in the Gospel of John. While some Christians are convinced she is the same woman, others have refrained from making that conclusion, Catholic reported.

Read: Biblical Documentary Alleging Jesus' Marriage To Mary Magdalene, Jerusalem Burial, Cleared Of Fraud By Israeli Court

4. According to the New Testament, Magdalene was a sinner whose soul was saved by Jesus Christ, who cast seven demons out of her body when he met her. However, it was Magdalene’s journey after she was saved by Christ that is significant. Magdalene was part of an entourage who followed Christ wherever he went. It is believed she was among the few women who witnessed the crucifixion of Christ, and also the resurrection of the Divine Savior.

5. According to the Catholic, after the death of Christ, she was put on a boat without oars by Jews, along with several other early Christians, and set to sail. She sailed to southern France, and lived out the rest of her life in solitude in a cave.

6. Before Pope Francis raised the July 22, 2016 memorial of St. Mary Magdalene to a feast on the church's liturgical calendar, he referred to her as a "true and authentic evangelizer," Catholic News reported

7. The Vatican announced during the celebration in 2016 that the day is a call for all Christians to "reflect more deeply on the dignity of women, the new evangelization and the greatness of the mystery of divine mercy."

Read: Feast of Mary Magdalene 2015: 11 Facts On The Most Mysterious Woman in the Bible

8. The feast of Magdalene also carries a message of women empowerment in the 21st century as people gather in churches to discuss the expanding role of Christian women in places of worship. "We now know that Jesus included women in his closest discipleship, that women such as Mary of Magdala, Susannah and Johanna probably underwrote his Galilean mission, and that women held leadership and ministerial roles in the early church identical to those held by men,” said Judith Davis, the organizer of the feast in the small town of Goshen, Indiana.

9. One of the delicacies traditionally made to commemorate the occasion is the French, sugar-coated cookies known as madeleines or magdalens.