Mary Magdalene Pilgrimage

We will stay in a VILLA in the town of St. Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume for the entire 7 nights and follow the path of Saint Mary Magdalene after the Resurrection when she came to Provence (47AD) and ended up spending the last thirty years of her life in a Cave up a mountain called La Sainte-Baume.

La Sainte-Baume—the Cave where Mary Magdalene
spent the last thirty years of her life in prayer and contemplation

Mary Magdalene Pilgrimage

Saturday, July 23 – Saturday, July 30, 2016

VILLA in St. Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume

The town of St. Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume is about 1 hour from Marseille Airport and it is the town in which Saint Mary Magdalene was buried. The Basilica of Saint Mary Magdalene was built over the crypt where her remains were uncovered in 1295.

Gorgeous villa with pool and garden

I have rented this VILLA for two weeks, leading a private family 7-Day Novena Pilgrimage July 16-23 and another one July 23-30.

The VILLA has 4 bedrooms (1 with a queen bed, 2 with a full bed in each and 1 with twin beds). It also has 4.5 bathrooms (2 of the bedrooms with ensuite shower, and 2 separate toilets). There is a pool and beautiful gardens. It will be hot in July so I am sure we will be able to enjoy the pool. The VILLA also includes internet, washing machine, dryer, flat screen TV, CD and DVD-players and a Hi-Fi system.

Our VILLA

I will have a rental SUV and do some of the shopping in advanced to have the kitchen well stocked. I will also use the SUV to take us on short trips into town, to the hôtellerie below the Cave (30 minutes away) and on our day trips to Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, Aix-en-Provence, Marseille, Tarascon & Arles. Each morning I will prepare the café and a typical French breakfast. Each evening I will have the pleasure of preparing a French dinner, or one of my favorite recipes from home. We will eat all our lunches out at restaurants while we are exploring Mary Magdalene country.

NOTE: Please let me know in advance of the trip if you have food allergies or any special diet that you need to follow.

Novena to Saint Mary Magdalene

Our 9-day Novena to Saint Mary Magdalene will begin on Thursday, July 21st while you are still at home getting ready for the trip, in order that it may end on the last day of our Novena Pilgrimage (July 29th).

You will each receive your own copy of the Novena Book before you leave to fly to Marseille, so you will have it to begin praying the novena on July 21st. The Novena Book has two parts to it: Novena to Saint Mary Magdalene in the front and Mary Magdalene in the Gospels (a compilation of every time Mary Magdalene is mentioned in the Gospel) in the back.

NOTE: To begin DAY 1 of the novena, open to page 1 and read the Opening Prayer. Then turn to the gospel in the back of the book, in this case Luke 78:36-50… read it and reflect on it. Then read Fr. Thomas Michelet, OP’s reflection on page 1. Fr. Thomas is the author of the novena and spent several years living at the hôtellerie with the Dominicans.

I T I N E R A R Y

DAY 1—Saturday, July 23rd

Arrive at Marseille Airport

Transport from Marseille Airport to the VILLA in St. Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume (about a 1 hour drive). Unpack and relax in the VILLA and it’s garden. Dinner at the VILLA. After dinner we’ll pray the 3rd day of our Novena to Saint Mary Magdalene.

DAY 2—Sunday, July 24th—Saint Mary Magdalene Feast Day Mass & Procession

St. Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume

Basilica of Saint Mary Magdalene in Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume

Today is the special Saint Mary Magdalene Feast Day Mass & Procession. They always have a special Mass & Procession on the Sunday after the feast day (July 22nd). This year it falls on July 24th. We will have breakfast at our VILLA and then drive into town (just a few minutes away) to attend the 10:30 AM Feast Day Mass. After the Mass there is a big celebration in the square in front of the basilica with all the people in the town.

Feast Day Mass in the Basilica

We will have lunch back at the VILLA as the town is very crowded on this day. After lunch we will return to the basilica to hear a homily on the Life of Mary Magdalene (probably in French) and then participate in the grand procession where they take the Skull of Mary Magdalene in its gold reliquary through the streets of the town in procession.

After the procession we will return to our VILLA to relax in the garden, have dinner and then pray the 4th day of our Novena to Saint Mary Magdalene.

DAY 3—Monday, July 25th

Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer

Breakfast at the VILLA. After breakfast we will drive to Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer in the Camargue where the Rhône River meets the Mediterranean Sea (about a 2 hour drive). This is the place where Mary Magdalene and her companions landed in 47 AD. Two of Mary Magdalene’s companions on the boat were the two Marys with her at the Empty Tomb—Saint Mary Salome (the wife of Zebedee and mother of the apostles James the greater and John the beloved) and Saint Mary Jacobe (the mother of the apostle James the less). These two Marys never left Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer. We will visit the old parish church (a fortress) where their remains were discovered in 1448 by René d’Anjou or “The Good King René.”

NOTE: I have written stories about each of the apostles on my website under BLOG, if you are interested in reading about them, CLICK on the underlined names.

Parish church of Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer

A Statue of Saint Mary Salome and Saint Mary Jacobe in a boat is on a side altar in the parish church. A large glass encases their relics on the other side of the church. Below the altar is a shrine to Saint Sarah. Tradition says Saint Sarah was the one who greeted the three Marys and their companions when they arrived in 47 AD. And Sarah was maid to the two Marys. The gypsies celebrate Saint Sarah’s feast day each year on May 24th.

As we drive through the little fishing village of Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer we will see the very large Camargue Cross, a symbol of faith, hope and love—Cross for FAITH, Anchor for HOPE and Heart for LOVE. We will have lunch overlooking the Mediterranean at Brasserie Le Belvédère.

Camargue Cross

Brasserie Le Belvédère

After lunch we will take a relaxing boat ride up the Camargue to see the wildlife—Camargue horses & bulls who roam free, and a wide variety of beautiful birds, including the purple heron and pink flamingo. We will take a little time for shopping in Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer after the boat ride and then return to our VILLA in St. Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume. There will be a little time to relax before we have dinner at our VILLA. After dinner we’ll pray Day 5 of our Novena to Saint Mary Magdalene.

Boat will take us on a relaxing ride up the Camargue

DAY 4—Tuesday, July 26th

Aix-en-Provence

Breakfast at the VILLA. We will drive to Aix-en-Provence (35-40 minutes away) and visit the Cathédrale Saint Sauveur where Mary Magdalene and St. Maximin (the first bishop of Aix) dedicated the first chapel to Jesus Christ. The remains of the floor of this chapel are inside the Cathedral. If we are lucky we will get into the Sacristy of the Cathedral (normally kept locked) where there is a relic of the actual foot of St. Andrew the Apostle and relics of St. Maximin (one of the 72 disciples of Christ).

Cathédrale Saint Sauveur

Aix-en-Provence is one of the loveliest towns in Provence. We will walk from one side of the center of Aix to the other (where cars cannot go), passing by the many fountains and all the outdoor Markets. Tuesday Market in Aix is something special. There is time for shopping.

Market Day Aix Provence by Sharon Furner

We’ll have a delicious lunch at Les Deux Garçons on the Cours Mirabeau (the finest avenue in town). Some of the many famous people who have dined at Les Deux Garçons include Winston Churchill, Pablo Picasso, Edith Piaf and Paul Cézanne.

Les Deux Garçons

After lunch we’ll walk down the street to the Chapel of the Oblates where Saint Eugene de Mazenod founded the Missionaries of Provence (1826) which was later called the Congregation of the “Oblates of Mary Immaculate.” Eugene de Mazenod was said to have “A heart as big as the world.” He later became the Bishop of Marseille. We will learn more about Eugene de Mazenod in Marseille.

Inside the Chapel of the Oblates there is a lovely statue of Saint Mary Magdalene.

Chapel of the Oblates in Aix-en-Provence

After strolling around Aix-en-Provence we’ll return to our VILLA in St. Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume and have time to relax in the garden, swim in the pool (if you want), and have dinner. Then we will pray Day 6 of our Novena to Saint Mary Magdalene.

DAY 5—Wednesday, July 27th

Marseille

Breakfast at the VILLA. We will take a day trip to the oldest city in France. The French city of Marseille was founded about 2600 years ago by the Greeks. After Mary Magdalene and her companions landed in Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, she went with her brother Lazarus (who became the first bishop of Marseille) and Maximin (the first bishop of Aix) to Marseille, probably by boat. We will visit Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde, the Neo-Byzantine basilica atop the highest hill in Marseille which has a panoramic view of the Bay of Marseille and the Mediterranean beyond.

Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde

Then we will drive down by the port to the Abbey of St. Victor.

Abbey of St. Victor

Tradition holds that in about 415 AD, John Cassian founded two monasteries of St. Victor at Marseille, one for men (the later Abbey of St. Victor), the other for women. We will have a tour of the crypt.

Lazarus Confessional in the crypt of the Abbey of St. Victor
with a relief of Mary Magdalene at La Sainte-Baume over the altar

We will take a walking tour: “Historic route of Marseille” – A walk through 2600 years. We will visit the Jardin des Vestiges, which is an archaeological site of Marseille’s ancient Greek then Roman port. In the 1960’s the ruins of the Jardin des Vestiges were excavated and include large sections of walls, gates and the remnants of warehouses and the general infrastructure of the old port. The earliest find dates back to 600 BC.

Jardin des Vestiges

From the Jardin des Vestiges it is a 5 minute walk to Au Vieux Clocher (in the Panier district) where we will have lunch. Either before or after lunch we’ll stop in the shop that sells Marseille Soap and look up and see Les Accoules bell tower. We will walk by Fort St. Jean and the Museum of Civilizations in Europe and the Mediterranean, and through Place de Lenche (where Lazarus was imprisoned and beheaded) and over to the Cathedral of Saint Mary Major which contains the skull of Lazarus and the tomb of Saint Eugene de Mazenod.

Au Vieux Clocher

Marseille Soap Shop

Cathédrale Sainte-Marie-Majeur

This will be a wonderful day in old Marseille. We will drive back to our VILLA where we can relax a little before dinner. After dinner we’ll pray Day 7 of our Novena to Saint Mary Magdalene.

DAY 6—Thursday, July 28th

Hôtellerie and La Sainte-Baume

Breakfast at the VILLA. We will drive to the Hôtellerie-de-la- Sainte-Baume (about 30 minutes away), just below the Cave of Mary Magdalene. On our way we will see the “Little Pilon,” a statue marking the place where Mary Magdalene had her last communion and died in the arms of Maximin.

The “Little Pilon” – 2015 Novena Pilgrimage

La Sainte-Baume

Hôtellerie-de-la-Sainte-Baume run by the Dominicans in Plan d’Aups

The hôtellerie is where the Dominicans who guard the relic of Saint Mary Magdalene live and open their home to pilgrims.

We will climb the mountain behind the hôtellerie through the forest to the Cave of Saint Mary Magdalene carrying a picnic lunch in our sling bags. We’ll eat our lunch next to the Cave.

Statue of Saint Mary Magdalene Carried by Angels in the Cave

We will leave our petitions and prayers at the altar in the Cave.

The hôtellerie is where the Dominicans who guard the relic of Saint Mary Magdalene live and open their home to pilgrims.

When we come down the mountain we will have a tour of the grounds of the hôtellerie, the chapel, the bookshop, and the cemetery (if you are not too tired).

Chapel of Saint Mary Magdalene in the Hôtellerie-de-la-Sainte-Baume

We will drive back to our VILLA where we can relax a little before dinner. After dinner we’ll pray Day 8 of our Novena to Saint Mary Magdalene.

DAY 7—Friday, July 29th—Feast of Saint Martha

Tarascon & Arles

Breakfast at the VILLA. We will drive to Tarascon (about a 2 hour drive) to visit the Church where the relics of St. Martha were discovered (in 1187 during a reconstruction of the church). Martha is the sister of Lazarus and Mary Magdalene. Today is the Feast of Saint Martha. You will see that there is no visible celebration in Tarascon for this feast day (unlike that of her sister Mary Magdalene) except a Feast Day Mass in the crypt of the church with very few in attendance.

Collégiale St-Marthe in Tarascon

Reliquary of Saint Martha

After visiting the church with Saint Martha’s relic and many beautiful paintings we will drive to Arles where we will have lunch and visit the Church of St. Trophime, a Roman Catholic church and former cathedral built between the 12th century and the 15th century. There are many amazing relics in this church.

Church of St. Trophime in Arles

On our drive back to the VILLA we will see beautiful sunflower fields. This would be a nice place to stop and take a photo.

Hopefully we arrive back in time to relax a little and begin to pack our bags. This will be our last dinner together. We will complete Day 9 of the Novena to Saint Mary Magdalene after dinner.

DAY 8—Saturday, July 30th

Marseille Airport

Early morning transport to Marseille Airport.

Tour Guide Paula Lawlor

contact Paula

Paula Lawlor is the author of A LOVE DEVOUT—The True Untold Story of Mary Magdalene and Mary Magdalene in the South of France. She was tour coordinator of the 2011 Tour of the Relic of Saint Mary Magdalene in California and tour coordinator of the 2013 Tour of the Relic of Saint Mary Magdalene in Illinois and St. Louis, Missouri. Paula and Véronique Flayol organized and led their first Novena Tour of PROVENCE to Saint Mary Magdalene in July 2013. Paula is hoping to help establish a National Shrine to Saint Mary Magdalene at St. Dominic Catholic Church in Denver, Colorado.