Ste. Baume, the astonishing.... cavern cathedral carved into the top of a mountain. Powerful local legends indicate that Mary Magdalene lived here after she came to France. In medieval times, royals and nobles came here to visit this remote cliff sanctuary and make the pilgrimage up the hill. So popular was this act of devotion to Mary Magdalene that a “Royal Road” was created to make the ascent easier.
St. Maximin-la-Ste. Baume, is the region where Mary Magdalene spent years of her life, living in hiding high up in the protection of the jagged mountains. There are conflicting legends regarding the time periods in which she lived here, the community believe that she lived her for many years and died here as well – the largest collection of her relics are in this region. Upon her death, she was buried on the site that would later become the Basilica of St Maximin, skeleton intact, but her bones have been the reason for wars between Provence and Burgundy, and are now scattered throughout France.
St Maximin Basilica, which holds some of the bones of Mary Magdalene in the crypt, as well as one of the stone coffins in which her body resided in for many centuries. Her skull is enshrined and on display in the crypt in a golden reliquary which is paraded through the town every year on her feast day, July 22nd. It has been authenticated as a skull from the first century of a petite woman who likely died in her late 50s or early 60s. Viewing it can be a very emotional experience for Magdalene devotees.
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