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Mary Magdalene 

There are strong reasons to believe Mary Magdalene was the same Mary as the sister of Martha and Lazarus.

First, there is an ancient tradition that Mary, Martha, and Lazarus were from a wealthy family. Their father Syrus, owned property all over Israel. Upon the death of their father, her brother Lazarus remained in Jerusalem, while Bethany became the home of Martha, and Mary lived in a family property by the Sea of Galilee, in a coastal town called Magdala. 

Second, Church Fathers such as Augustine, Jerome, John Chrysostom, and Gregory the Great, as well as Thomas Aquinas, believed the sister of Martha and Lazarus is Mary Magdalene, from whom Jesus drove out seven demons.

Third, in 415 A.D., St. John Cassian went to Marseille, France, and was shown the tombs of Martha and Mary Magdalene. It was well known at that time that Lazarus was considered the first Bishop of the Church there. The religious order founded by St. John Cassian became the first protectors of the grotto of St. Mary Magdalene. So, if Mary Magdalene is not the Mary who is the sister of Martha and Lazarus, then where is that Mary? Why wasn’t she with her siblings? Why is she lost to history?

Finally, the Basilica of St. Mary Magdalene which claims her relics and the Cave in which she lived are located in a region of France called Sainte Maxim-Sainte Baume (meaning holy cave). The region is named after St. Maxim, a disciple of Jesus who came with Mary Magdalene and Martha to France in the 1st century AD. St. Baume means “holy cave,” where Magdalene lived. This region has had this name since the Roman era.