Mary Magdalene

Out of Whom Went Seven Devils

Mary Magdalene is named in all four Gospels, and her introduction is also her deliverance: among the women who followed and supported Jesus was "Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils" (Luke 8:2). The Church has long noted that the tradition conflating her with other unnamed women is not supported by the text; what Scripture says of her is clear and dignified. She was a woman set free by Jesus, and her freedom became lifelong devotion. She is from Magdala, a fishing town on the Sea of Galilee, and she followed all the way to the end.

She Did Not Leave

When the eleven had scattered, the women remained. Mary Magdalene stood among those "looking on afar off" at the cross, "Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome" (Mark 15:40). She watched where He was laid. She came back. The devotion that began at her deliverance held through the darkest hours, when there was nothing left to gain and everything to fear.

He Spoke Her Name

Mary came to the tomb while it was yet dark, found it empty, and stayed weeping outside when the others had gone. She supposed He was the gardener, until He spoke one word: "Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master" (John 20:16). The resurrection was made personal in a single name. Then she was sent: "Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord" (John 20:18), and Mark records it plainly, "he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils" (Mark 16:9). In a world where a woman's testimony carried little legal weight, God made a woman the first witness of the event on which everything stands.

What the Sanctum Draws From Mary Magdalene

Sanctum reads Mary Magdalene as deliverance becoming witness, the very motion the Sanctum is built to honor. This application is interpretation grounded in the plain text: she was freed, she followed, she saw, she was sent. For the Sanctum's trauma-aware mission, she is precious because her story does not hide where she began, out of whom went seven devils, and does not let that beginning define her end, the first to say "I have seen the Lord." The one delivered becomes the one sent. The Sanctum is a doorway, and Mary walked through it from torment to commission, and her first errand was to tell.

Key Scripture Passages

• Luke 8:2 — And certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils,
• Mark 15:40 — There were also women looking on afar off: among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome;
• Mark 16:9 — Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils.
• John 20:16 — Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.
• John 20:18 — Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her.
• 2 Corinthians 12:9 — And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Why This Story Lives in the Sanctum

Mary Magdalene is deliverance becoming witness: the one set free is the one God sends. The Sanctum is a doorway she walked through from torment to commission, and her first errand was to tell.