Mary Magdalene arriving in Marseille
(Magdalene Chapel in Assisi - 1315) :
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In 1696, Louis Antoine de Ruffi wrote in his book "Histoire de la Ville de Marseille":
"The Church of Marseille is one of the first of the Gauls.It originates from Saint Lazare whom the Jews chased away from Jerusalem with St. Martha, Mary Magdalene her sisters, Marcelle their servant, Saint Maximin, Saint Celidoine (or Sidoine) who is believed to be the man born blind, Joseph of Arimathea and other disciples of Jesus Christ, because they highly preached the resurrection of the Savior of the world, and because they had loved him dearly during his life, and to slay them, they exposed them in a vessel without sails, without oars and with no rudder, but as there is no human council that can oppose the decisions of Providence, this holy band, (as per several good authors, and a handwritten history of England, which according to Baronius is in the Vatican), fortunately landed at the port of Marseille, where having landed, it split to go preach the Gospel throughout the rest of Provence
Attachment 22401
Saint Maximin and Saint Célidoine went to plant the faith in the city of Aix, where they were the first bishops, St. Martha and St. Marcelle in Tarascon, St. Magdalene and St. Lazarus remained in Marseille, where they preached the Gospel, converted this idolatrous people, and changed to the worship of the true God the temple of Diane into a church which has always been the seat of the bishops and commonly called the Major Church, or the Cathedral Church.
Attachment 22402
It is true that St. Magdalene after living some time in Marseille, retired to a nearby cave, on which the abbey of Saint-Victor was built. But as it was too exposed to the importunities of the people, she went to do penance at the Sainte Baume. As for St. Lazare, he spent the rest of his days in Marseille, and ruled as bishop until the year 80 of our Lord, when he received the crown of martyrdom. "
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In 1773, Jean-Baptiste Grosson wrote in the Recueil des antiquités et des monuments marseillois qui peuvent intéresser l’histoire et les arts ("Collection of antiquities and Marseille monuments which can interest history and the arts"):
"The tradition of the Church of Marseille [...] tells us that Lazarus and his pious family when they arrived in Marseille, were lodged in the peristyle of a small abandoned temple, located before the porch of the great temple of Diane.
Attachment 22403
The preaching of Mary Magdalene (museum of Marseille ~ 1513)
It is here that Mary Magdalene began the first preaching of the Gospel to the people of Marseille who was going to the great temple. This building is precisely designated to us as a chapel that the piety of our fathers erected in honor of the Madeleine, on the same site, to show their gratitude to this saint, and perpetuate the memory forever.
This edifice, which fell into ruin several times and rebuilt several times on the same premises, and always in honor of Madeleine, is a constant proof of the intention of our fathers, to preserve the memory of the same event.
The chapel existed from time immemorial, when it was rebuilt in 1220, and since in 1613. A piece of sculpture in bas-relief, which formerly adorned this chapel, represented Sainte Madeleine surrounded by listeners before the porch of a temple. This bas-relief is named in the titles of the twelfth century: "Petra imaginis" and "Lapis imaginis." Based on these observations, we must conclude that the portico of the Temple of Diana ended well near the crossroads of the Thirteen Corners, where is located the Chapel of the Madeleine."
Attachment 22399
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There's also this caption of an old map of Marseille :
"E. The Church of the accoles, where Mary Magdalene started preaching the Christian faith. to the King, & people of Marseille[...]"
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