Back in 591 when delivering a sermon Pope Gregory made a fatal error. He linked Mary Magdalene with the woman who anointed Jesus feet. This woman had identified herself as a sinner and Pope Gregory decided her sin was prostitution. There is nothing in the Bible that supports this in anyway. Unfortunately, this theory was widely accepted and persisted down through the centuries.

In 1969 Pope Paul VI removed the identification with a sinful woman from the General Roman Calendar. This was the beginning of the restoration of Mary Magdalene’s reputation. Though popular culture persists in the myth that she was a prostitute.

In 2016 Pope Francis called her the Apostle of the Apostles and changed July 22nd from a memorial day to a Feast day.


She is believed to have died in Ephesus, Turkey.

She is the Patron Saint of (among others) women, converts, glove makers and pharmacists.

She is venerated in the Anglican, Catholic, Orthodox, Bah’ai and Lutheran faiths.

Her Feast Day is July 22nd.