October 28 celebrates the memory of St. Jude Thaddeus the Apostle, patron saint of hopeless cases. Here is how this belief originated

Tradition has it that St. Jude Thaddeus was the son of Mary of Cleophas, one of the three Marys, the three pious women who accompanied His agony at the foot of the cross, as well as a cousin of the Virgin Mary. This would make St. Jude Thaddeus the cousin of Jesus as well as the brother of James the Lesser, and this kinship would be further corroborated because Mary of Cleophas married Alphaeus, who was in turn the brother of St. Joseph. In any case, St. Thaddeus was thus related to Jesus on both his father’s and mother’s side. He was born in Cana of Galilee, Palestine, and was one of the twelve apostles, as was James, one of his brothers. Later James also became the first bishop of Jerusalem, and another brother, Simon, was his successor. A third brother, Joseph, was known by the nickname Justus, while his only sister, Mary Salome, was the mother of two other apostles: St. James the Greater and St. John the Evangelist. A large family, then, closely related to the family of Jesus, to the point that in certain passages of Scripture St. Jude Thaddeus and his brothers are mentioned no as cousins, but as brothers of Christ.

Little mentioned in the Bible, St. Jude Thaddeus is not to be confused with another infamous Judas. We speak, of course, of Judas Iscariot, also an apostle, at least until he betrayed Jesus for thirty denarii. Perhaps also to avoid confusion in Scripture St. Jude Thaddeus is usually just called Thaddeus, or alternatively Lebbeus: Thaddeus comes from the Aramaic “taddajja,” meaning chest, while Lebbeus comes from the word “libba,” heart. So the meaning of this Apostle’s name is in each case “man with a big heart.”

Included in the New Testament is a letter of Jude attributed to St. Jude Thaddeus, dated between 70 and 120 A.D. and consisting of 25 verses, the first of which reads, “Jude, servant of Jesus Christ, brother of James.” Included in the canon of the Bible, the letter draws inspiration from Jewish legends and apocryphal writings, such as the Assumption of Moses and the Apocalypse of Enoch.

Martyrdom and iconography

After Jesus’ death, St. Jude devoted himself to preaching the Word with great passion and determination, especially in Persia. This especially antagonized him the two magicians Zaroes and Arfaxat and the pagan priests, who had him and the apostle Simon Zealot arrested and taken to the Temple of the Sun. Here the two refused to recant their faith, and St. Jude warned those present to be wary of false idols, for dangerous demons lodge in them. That said, two demons appeared and destroyed the temple. Furious, the priests stirred up the people against the saint, who was slaughtered with stones, clubs and spear blows. His remains are kept in St. Peter’s Basilica, Rome, in the center of the apse of the left transept dedicated to St. Joseph. Other relics were brought by a friar to Lanciano, Abruzzo, and were the subject of a violent dispute between Venice and Lanciano, in which the Kingdom of Naples was also mistakenly involved. Eventually Venice recognized Lanciano’s ownership of the relics, which are still kept in a chapel in the convent of St. Augustine in Lanciano.

In popular iconography St. Jude is depicted holding a book, a symbol of the Word of God of which he was a brave and passionate herald, and a halberd, a kind of spear, the instrument of his martyrdom, or alternatively a mace, again to recall his violent death.

The Black church

St. Jude Thaddeus was also the first Catholicos (patriarch) of the Armenian church. In fact, it was the two apostles St. Bartholomew and St. Jude who brought Christianity to Armenia. Indeed, it was here that Christianity became the state religion as early as 301 A.D., earlier than in any other country. In a mountainous area of Azarbaijan, in the place where St. Jude Thaddeus is said to have died, stands the Monastery of St. Thaddeus, also called Kara Kilise or Qareh Kalisa, “the Black Church.” Included in the UNESCO World Heritage List since 2008, the Black Church is a place of pilgrimage visited by thousands of devotees from all over the world every year.

Patron saint of lost causes

Along with St. Rita, St. Philomena and St. George the Wonderworker, St. Jude Thaddeus is considered patron of lost causes and protector of the hopeless. The reasons for this association are not known, but the tendency to invoke him in desperate situations began early. St. Bernard always traveled with a relic of St. Jude Thaddeus with him, and St. Gertrude also prayed to him daily.

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Prayer to St. Jude

There is a special prayer to St. Jude Thaddeus that can be recited for three days when facing an insurmountable problem. If the situation is really desperate it can be repeated for nine days, Here is the novena to St. Jude Thaddeus:

St. Jude Thaddeus,

faithful servant and friend of Jesus,

you who are the blessed patron

Of difficult and desperate causes,

pray and intercede for me in great earnest,

for I am overwhelmed at this time of great misery.

My most holy St. Jude Thaddeus succor me promptly

do not reject my request, for I resort to you eagerly and with great hope, knowing that your goodness is great

I promise you St. Jude

to always remember this favor and never forget to

honor you as my mighty protector and my very great benefactor.

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Among sacred icons, that of the Black Virgin of Czestochowa is one of the most emblematic and fascinating. Here is her story

Russian icons possess a fascination that transcends centuries, an allure so rich in exoticism and spirituality that they are still one of the highest forms of religious expression in any place and time. Originating together with the Russian Orthodox Church, shortly before the year 1000, they sink their religious symbolism into a mixture of sacred and profane Eastern traditions, which for a long time have not been contaminated by Western sacred iconography in perpetual evolution through the centuries.

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Russian hand-painted icons

The icons you will find in this department are entirely handmade following the traditional techniques.

Suffice it to say that the icon of the Black Virgin of Czestochowa, like many other Russian icons with Mary, the mother of Jesus, as their subject, is attributed to the Evangelist Luke. Indeed, tradition has it that St. Luke, a skilled painter, portrayed the Virgin, as well as the apostles Peter and Paul, and was the founder of the Christian iconographic and artistic tradition in the West and East. Many Byzantine icons have been attributed to him, others traceable to his models. This attribution to Luke of the role of portrayer of sacred characters would have stemmed from his ability to render most accurately the characters in his Gospel, describing them with minuteness and realism. The Black Virgin of Częstochowa, a very ancient depiction of the Virgin Mary, would be among St. Luke’s original paintings.

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Like many of the Black Madonnas depicted in Byzantine icons or carved from cedar wood from Lebanon in the typical style of Eastern statues of the year 1000, the Black Virgin of Czestochowa also looks strange to us Westerners with her dark, elongated face and elaborate crown encrusted with gold and gems. Studies carried out over time on the icon have placed its creation between the 6th and 9th centuries AD. It belongs to the category of Byzantine icons known as “Odigitria,” She who points and guides along the way. It depicts the bust of the Virgin with the Child Jesus in her arms, both with dark faces surrounded by haloes, adorned with the opulence typical of Byzantine icons.

Mary’s right hand points to the Child and on her forehead is drawn a six-pointed star, which for Christianity symbolizes the six days of Creation or even the struggle between God and the devil. The Virgin’s right cheek and neck bear the marks of the slashes inflicted with the saber by the heretical Hussites, who attacked and looted the shrine in 1430. The blows they inflicted caused the icon to bleed miraculously. As with most Russian icons, the Black Virgin of Czestochowa falls into the category of grieving Madonnas. She appears sad, and at the same time enveloped in a halo of wisdom and spiritual strength, as she shows her blessed Son to the world.

The Sanctuary of Czestochowa

Also known as the Black Madonna of Czestochowa, in 1382 she arrived amid various vicissitudes at the Częstochowa Sanctuary in Jasna Góra (Clear Mountain), today one of the most important centers of Catholic worship in Poland. Since its founding, and even more so since the icon of the Black Virgin was brought here, the shrine has been the heart of great devotion. Even Polish kings made pilgrimages there to venerate the Black Madonna. The Hungarian order of the Paulines, monks born around the figure of St. Paul the first hermit, have always been guardians of the sanctuary. The Walking Pilgrimage to the Częstochowa Sanctuary takes place every year in the summer months, especially around mid-August. On several days pilgrims travel hundreds of kilometers to reach the place of worship from all parts of Poland. The longest journey measures 600 kilometers! Even the young Karol Wojtyła, later Pope John Paul II, tackled it in 1936.

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The Black Madonna of Czestochowa and the Child.

Prayer to Our Lady of Czestochowa

The feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Czestochowa is celebrated on August 26. The feast was established in 1931 by Pope Pius X, and in 1935 the liturgical texts for the celebration were approved. The Black Virgin of Częstochowa protects Poland from foreign attacks and symbolizes resistance against invaders. Here is one of the prayers dedicated to her:

O Chiaromontana Mother of the Church,

With the choirs of angels and our patron saints,

we humbly prostrate ourselves before Thy throne.

For centuries You have shone with miracles and graces here at

Jasna Góra, seat of Your infinite mercy.

Look upon our hearts that present You the homage

Of veneration and love.

Awaken within us the desire for holiness;

form us true apostles of faith;

strengthen our love for the Church.

Obtain for us this grace that we so long for: (expound grace)

O Mother of the scarred face,

Into Thy hands I place myself and all my loved ones.

In You I trust, confident in Your intercession with Your Son,

to the glory of the Most Holy Trinity.

(3 Hail Marys).

Under Thy protection we take refuge,

O Holy Mother of God: look upon us who are in need.

Our Lady of the Bright Mountain, pray for us.

Saint Therese of Lisieux, who died at the age of twenty-five, after having spent much of her life in seclusion, left us a unique model of spirituality and an example that is still followed throughout the world.

What makes a saint so special? A definition is difficult to summarize in a few lines, without falling into banality, or even error. By consulting any dictionary we will read that, within the Catholic Church, “holy” is a man or a woman who has been able to live by the example of Jesus and who during his life has demonstrated Christian virtues to the point of cancelling or even sacrificing his life in the name of his faith. What exceptional men and women these saints must be, almost heroes! Then we think of Saint Therese of Lisieux, a girl born and raised in Normandy, in a family like many, entered very young among the Carmelites and died just twenty-five years. How can this young woman have demonstrated so many qualities to justify her consecration, especially the great veneration of which she is still the subject?

But there is more.

Saint Therese of Lisieux is not a simple saint. She is venerated as the patron saint of the missionaries and one of France’s patron saints with Saint Anne, the mother of the Virgin Mary, and Joan of Arc. Moreover, since 1997 she has been the third woman to be proclaimed a Doctor of the Church, together with Caterina da Siena and Teresa d’Avila, a title attributed only to those who have shown exceptional enlightenment and theological sensitivity in their writings, but above all in life.

What makes this girl so special? Let’s find out together.

The story of Saint Therese of Lisieux

The story of Saint Therese of the Child Jesus, or Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, does not seem like an exceptional woman’s story. Born in the bosom of a loving and very devout family, she suffered from a small loss and mourning, first of all, that of her mother, who left her when she was just four years old. Nevertheless, she grew up surrounded by the love of her father and four sisters, showing an unusual love for Jesus from an early age.

Born in Alençon, Normandy, in 1873, she moved to Lisieux after the death of her mother. Here she was educated by the Benedictine nuns, showing her shy nature, melancholy and little brought to collective life. When her older sister Pauline decided to enter the Carmelite order, Teresa also felt that she could be happy as a nun. After a terrible illness, which she healed thanks to the prayers addressed to the Virgin Mary, the little girl received her First Communion, which confirmed her intention to dedicate her life to Jesus.

But she will have to wait and face the perplexities of relatives, concerned about her young age and poor health. She eventually went on a pilgrimage to Rome, begging Pope Leo XIII to allow her to take her vows. Just fifteen years old, she entered the same monastery where two of her sisters already live and after the period of postulate and novitiate at seventeen and a half, she made her solemn vows and took the religious name of Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face.

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Therese died on 30 September 1897 without ever leaving the monastery. Her last words were: “My God, I love you.” In the few years she spent among the sisters she wrote an autobiographical work, the Story of a Soul, still today one of the fundamental texts of universal spirituality, as well as numerous poems, plays, prayers and letters. She was canonized in 1925 by Pope Pius XI.

The theology of the “little way”

But what do the works left by Saint Therese talk about? It is essential to understand what her doctrine consisted of since it is precisely in it that lies the ultimate reason for her holiness. As we have already mentioned since she was a child, Therese showed a surprising propensity to love Jesus.  This love will be the heart of Therese’s theological and literary work, the search for holiness in the small daily gestures, even those seemingly most insignificant, but which become immense if carried out in the name of love for God. No act of heroism, no dramatic action. Saint Therese followed what she herself had called the “little way“. In her feeling small and inadequate, in her daily awareness of her limitations, she realized the enormity of God’s love, to which we can do nothing but entrust ourselves as children, in absolute trust and innocence. The smaller we feel before God, the more he will love us, because his nature leads him to bend down to all that is small and in need of love. This is why Saint Therese signed her letters adding to her name the title “the little one”.

In this perspective, abandonment to God coincides with our not feeling anything, with constantly living the awareness of our poverty, smallness. This inadequacy, this sense of inner emptiness is thus filled with the fullness of God’s love. It is a revolutionary concept because it justifies every fault, every weakness, even sin, which in this way they become only other ways to bring man, by his nature small and imperfect, to God.

Not only that, but those who surrender to their smallness and let God’s love invest in them, raising them above their human limits, also drag with them those who love, in a kind of communion of love, a meeting of souls that embraces the whole church, like a big family.

In this praise to smallness lies the greatness of Saint Therese of the Child Jesus. Pius X, who called her Star of my Pontificate or even My little Saint, said that although there was nothing extraordinary in her, her extreme simplicity was the most extraordinary and worthy of attention that distinguished her soul. And speaking of his most famous work, Story of a Soul, Benedict XVI said: “Story of a Soul is a wonderful story of Love, told with such authenticity, simplicity and freshness that the reader cannot fail to be fascinated!”

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This traditional image from Fratelli Bonella's archives is given a sense of spirituality by the artistic effect of canvas.
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The Saint Teresa of Avila statue is depicted with brown and white clothing while holding a cross. The base of the statue is gold colored.
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Saint Therese of Lisieux Doctor of the Church

It was John Paul II in 1997 who proclaimed Saint Therese Doctor of the Church, on the centenary of her death. And this although Therese had not been able to attend university, nor to conduct regular studies. But she knew how to live her vocation by making her own the commandment of love in such a full and total way, living of prayer and communion and providing an incomparable example. For this reason too, she is venerated as the patron saint of missionaries, although she was never given the opportunity to work in the missions.

Saint Therese of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face deserved the title of Doctor of the Church despite being only a woman, who died so young, and despite being a contemplative character and life, certainly not a heroine or a person of action. But her spiritual journey was so innovative and mature, her writings so rich in intuitions of faith so vast and deep, as to make a reference also for intellectuals and men of thought and spirit much more famous and great.

Meaning of the name Therese

The name Therese comes from Greek and means “hunter“. Made famous by Therese D’Avila, patron saint of Naples, and Therese of Lisieux, but also by Mother Therese of Calcutta, in more recent times, it is a name that preserves a sour and at the same time very sweet note. The name day falls on October 15 (memory of Saint Therese D’Avila), October 1 or 3 (memory of Saint Therese of Lisieux or the Child Jesus).

Saint Therese of Lisieux Novena of roses

The Novena of the roses of Saint Therese of the Child Jesus draws inspiration from the words spoken by Saint Therese herself, who prophesied her own death and announced: “You will see at the moment of my death that cascade of roses I will make rain on the earth.” Often the iconography shows us Saint Therese with hands full of roses, which symbolize the graces she dispensed in life and even after her death.

In 1925, a Jesuit named Father Putigan began to recite a novena to invoke an important grace, and asked God as a sign of benevolence and a guarantee, a rose. He obtained it on the third day, and with it the grace, and so he began another novena and asked for another rose. Thus was born the miraculous novena of roses, which today is practised everywhere in the world. It can be recited at any time, but Saint Therese devotees usually choose to recite it from the 9th to the 17th of each month.

Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I thank you for all the favours and graces which you have enriched the soul of your servant Saint Therese of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face, Doctor of the Church, during her twenty-four years spent on this earth. For its merits grant me the grace that ardently I desire (the desired grace is pronounced here), if it is conformed to Your holy wish and for the good of my soul.

Help my faith and my hope, O Saint Therese of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face. Fulfil once again your promise to spend your heaven “doing good on earth”, allowing me to receive a rose as a sign of the grace I desire to obtain.

We then recite 24 Gloria, in thanksgiving to God for the gifts granted to Therese in the twenty-four years of her earthly life.

Every Glory is followed by the invocation:

Saint Therese of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face, pray for us.

Saint Therese of the Child Jesus, who during your earthly life loved God above all things and offered herself as a victim to His merciful love, help me to make precious all the moments of my life, transforming them into acts of true love.

Allow me to follow your little way, that is, to live in the spirit of evangelical simplicity and humility, in total abandonment to the will of the Lord.

Teach me to accept every suffering as a precious gift to those who love the most.

May I too close my earthly life by repeating your last words: My God, I love you.

Cross, still and heart: the symbols of the three theological virtues are united in the Cross of the Camargue. Here is the story of this symbol.

There are different types of crosses – we have also dedicated an article to them – and each one carries a particular meaning. The Cross of the Camargue is unique because it contains several symbols in one, representing the union of the three theological virtues: Faith, Hope and Charity. It is called “della Camargue” because it is precisely in the French area of the Camargue that it was used for the first time.

The Three Theological Virtues

The theological virtues are Faith, Hope and Charity. They are virtues that refer primarily to man’s relationship with God. Faith is the virtue of believing in God, through the Revelation of Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit. Hope, as a theological virtue, is the ability to desire and expect from God the happiness and fulfilment of things. Charity is the virtue of the man who, recognising himself as loved by God, loves others and is capable of receiving love and giving love as Jesus taught.

St. Paul himself, in the first letter to the Corinthians, mentions the three theological virtues: “Now, therefore, these three things remain: faith, hope and charity. But the greatest of all is charity!”

Symbols of Faith, Hope and Charity

The theological and cardinal virtues have often been protagonists in the visual representations of the Catholic tradition. In many works of Renaissance art, they are represented as characters who hold some representative objects.

The symbols most frequently used to represent Faith, Hope and Charity are the cross, the anchor and the heart.

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The cross represents faith: Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and his resurrection constitute the essence of God’s Revelation to man. God made himself known as Father, he sent his Only Son to free humanity from sin and defeat evil once and for all: the cross symbolises all this. The anchor is the symbol of Hope: man trusts in Jesus Christ, still of salvation, which allows him to remain steadfast in joy and faith. The heart is a symbol of charity: always associated with love, the heart represents the most intimate and vital part of the human being. Charity, and therefore the capacity to be loved and to love, has to do with the truest and most living part of us.

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The Cross of the Camargue

The Cross of the Camargue unites in a single design the symbols of the three theological virtues. It was created by the artist Hermann-Paul in 1926 at the request of his friend Folco de Baroncelli-Javon. It has become the emblematic symbol of Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, a town whose church is dedicated to the Three Marys of the Gospel. On the side facade of the building, you can admire a cross of the Camargue.

In the Cross of the Camargue, the vertical arm of the cross traverses the heart and splits at the lower end into the two arms of the anchor. The three upper ends of the cross are often tridentate. The tridents are also linked to the history of this symbol: they were the tools that the guardians, that is the breeders of the Camargue, used to move the livestock raised in the wild. Precisely for this reason the Cross of the Camargue is also known as the Guardian Cross – croix gardiane in French.

In addition to the three theological virtues, the cross is therefore also representative of the characters of the Camargue: the tridents of the guardians, the anchor of the fishermen and the charitable heart of the Three Marie del Mare.

The Madonnina di Tindari ‘chose’ to stop in the small town of the same name in the province of Messina. Here his feast day is celebrated every year on 7 and 8 September.

To understand the cult born around the Madonna of Tindari it is necessary to pause for a moment on the territory surrounding the small hamlet, part of the metropolitan city of Messina. Tindari was founded in the fourth century BC, in 396 BC by the will of Dionysius I of Syracuse to accommodate the Syracusan mercenaries who had fought in the war against Carthage. Its name derives from Tindar, king of Sparta, husband of Leda, who was fertilised by Zeus in the form of a swan, generated four children: Pollux and Elena, who would be the cause of the Trojan War, sons of Zeus, and Castor and Clitennestra, conceived with Tindar.

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Tindari is located on a promontory overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea, in a bay dotted with ponds that today make up the Laghetti di Marinello Oriented Nature Reserve. The particular shape of this area has played an important role in the birth of the cult of the Black Madonna, which today is housed in the Sanctuary of Tindari, built right on top of the promontory, to dominate the sea.
Here every year, on the occasion of the Feast of the Black Madonna thousands of faithful and curious people flock from all over Sicily, and beyond. It is certainly one of the places of pilgrimage that you should go at least once in your life.

History of Our Lady of Tindari

The cult of the Madonnina of Tindari is linked to the tradition of the Madonnas of the Sea, of which we have spoken in our article dedicated to Marian titles. In particular, in another article, we have told the legends about Saint Mary on the Sea venerated in Maiori and Santa Maria di Castellabate, in Salerno.
Even the veneration of the Madonnina di Tindari arises from a legend. A ship travelling from Byzantium had sought refuge from the storm in the bay of Tindari, sheltered between the ponds. When they left, however, the sailors realised that something was preventing them from returning to the sea. Convinced that it was the weight of the cargo they began to leave as much merchandise as possible on the beach to lighten the hold, but only when they also deposited the statue of the Madonna that they carried with them the ship was able to set off.

Another legend tells of a mother who came to the Shrine to thank Our Lady for saving her sick child. Seeing her all black she said: Hàju vinutu di luntana via, ppi vidiri a una cchiù brutta di mia! “I came from far away, to see one uglier than me!” At that moment the child in her arms fell into the sea and the desperate woman ran to the beach at the foot of the promontory. Then the waves opened and allowed her to find the creature and rescue it. If you look at the shape of the coast from above, it resembles the shape of a woman holding a child in her arms.

As for the appearance of the Black Madonna of Tindari, it is black because it is carved in the cedar wood of Lebanon with a style typical of Byzantine and Eastern statues around the year 1000. The sculpture would have been taken away from the East, presumably Egypt, to escape iconoclastic persecution. For us accustomed to more harmonious sculptures, his elongated face may seem strange, as well as the headdress he wears, halfway between a crown and a turban.

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The Madonna is represented seated and holding the Son.

The Madonna Bruna is depicted as a Bassilissa, a Byzantine empress seated on a throne, and on the supporting throne are engraved the words Nigra Sum Sed Formosa, “I am black but I am beautiful”, taken from the Song of Songs. She holds baby Jesus in her arms and raises her right hand as a sign of blessing. She is known and worshipped as Matri ‘u Tinnaru and she is one of the oldest Marian cults in Sicily.

The Sanctuary of Tindari

The Basilica Santuario di Maria Santissima di Tindari was rebuilt in the 16th century on the remains of an ancient church destroyed by Arab pirates led by Khayr al-Din Barbarossa, corsair and admiral of the Ottoman fleet that put the Tyrrhenian coast of Sicily on fire in the mid-1500s. Here stood also and presumably an ancient fortress that dominated the promontory.

After the Baroque reconstruction, the church was enlarged and renovated in the late 1800s. The original church of the Madonna of Tindari was incorporated into the Sanctuary, a bit like what happened in Assisi with the Porziuncola inside Santa Maria degli Angeli.

As we mentioned, every year on 7 and 8 September, the feast of the Black Madonna is held in Tindari, culminating with a solemn procession in which thousands of pilgrims from neighbouring municipalities participate. According to tradition, pilgrims climb on foot to the Shrine along the rugged Coda della Volpe path, which goes up the side of the mountainous coast. In addition to prayers and chants, the festival includes stalls, gastronomic events and folkloric traditions that combine the sacred dimension with the most picturesque of the locality.

What is the truth about Mary Magdalene? Wife of Jesus or simple disciple? Let’s find out in this article.

Did Jesus ever get married?

In the Jewish society in which Jesus and the twelve apostles lived, it was very rare for a man to remain unmarried, since creating a family and having children was one of the first moral imperatives of Jewish law: “Be fruitful, become numerous, populate the earth”. Moreover, since Jesus was a master, and thus a public figure dedicated to the explanation of the Scriptures, the chosen celibacy would have seemed strange to contemporaries. However, there are other examples of great men who remained celibate – John the Baptist, Paul of Tarsus, the prophet Jeremiah – so it is not to be considered a totally extreme position.

Marriage and Celibacy of Jesus

In the canonical gospels and texts of the New Testament, there is never any mention of a bride of Jesus or of her marriage. Instead, we find references to the earthly family of Jesus (Mary and Joseph) and to the people who lived with him during the preaching. The fact that none of the canonical gospels mentions such a strong bond suggests that it did not exist at all.

The theme of marriage is present in several passages of the gospel, starting with the occasion of the first public miracle of Jesus (the wedding at Cana) and during other episodes in which Jesus clarifies ideas about the law of Moses. The theme of celibacy is also addressed by Jesus in the discourse on eunuchs in chapter 19 of the Gospel of Matthew: “For there are eunuchs who were born so from the womb of the mother; there are some who were made eunuchs by men, and there are others who became eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven. Who can understand, understand”. Jesus’ celibacy would be part of his mission of Salvation.

Mary Magdalene married to Jesus

Where does the hypothesis come from that Mary Magdalene could be the bride of Jesus?

Some scholars have advanced this hypothesis by relying mainly on one of the apocryphal gospels, texts not accepted as part of the New Testament because they are too recent. The so-called Gospel of Philip, like many apocryphal gospels, is a gnostic text – read our article on the apocryphal gospels to learn more. In this apocryphal gospel, Mary Magdalene appears as the companion of Jesus, loved by him more than all the other disciples. In reality, the term “companion” can be interpreted in another way.

Another text that has brought to light the debate on the marital situation of Jesus is a Coptic text, a translation of a document in Greek, called the Gospel of the Wife of Jesus. The text was announced in 2021 by Karen L. King, a scholar at Harvard University. The document speaks of an alleged wife of Jesus. However, the studies carried out on the text have revealed a very late date compared to the gospels: the Gospel of the wife of Jesus turned out to be fake.

Another series of hypotheses is linked to a medieval legend that tells how, after the crucifixion, Mary of Magdala had fled Palestine to reach France. She took with her the son of Jesus, from whom the Merovingian dynasty would have originated. The study of this legend was taken up in the essay The Holy Grail by Baigent, Leigh and Lincoln and was a source of inspiration for the novel The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown.

The figure of Mary Magdalene has an important role in the Gospels and in the life of Christ: she is the first to receive the announcement of the Resurrection and is herself a symbol of total love for Jesus. It is reasonable to think that there was a particularly strong relationship between Mary Magdalene and Jesus, but there is no reliable evidence that Mary Magdalene was the wife of Jesus.

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