By Fr. Cristóbal Vilarroig, LC The ancient world outside Palestine knew Magdala with the name of Tarichaea (salting factory). The city´s salted fish was quite famous. Only one author could lead one to think that Tarichaea and Magdala were two different cities. Pliny the Elder, in his work “Natural History” (around 70 AD), says that…
This past 14th of July we commemorated the tenth anniversary of the passing of Don Eduardo Sanchez Junco (Palencia, Spain 1944 – Madrid, Spain 2010), may he rest in peace. We take this opportunity to remember him and ask the Magdala Family and our friends to pray for him and his family. This great man…
Dear Magdala Family, We continue to find ourselves living in and through this unique period of time. In Magdala we recently reached an important anniversary, the tenth year of our volunteer program. I want to share with you a brief historical recap and reflection of it. It was back in 2009 when the first archaeological…
My name is Adam Pangan, and I am 23 years old. I’m from Virginia, and I went to school at Virginia Tech. It was during my time in college that I agreed to give a full year volunteering. Long story short, God guided me to Israel, and the month of my graduation, He highlighted the…
The daily 5-minute drive to Magdala from the apartment where our community lives in northern Tiberias follows a road that skirts the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. My eyes never tire of looking out over the waters. The glowing rosy surface reflecting the pre-dawn sky becomes a smooth slate blue, streaked by fire…
By Fr. Cristobal Vilaroig On March 15 of the year 44 B.C. Julius Caesar died at the hands of Gaius Cassius Longinus and Marcus Brutus. Cicero himself applauded the feat: by cutting short the dictator’s career, they saved the Roman Republic. Yet, not all shared the euphoria of the conspirators: in the eyes of the…
Dear Magdala Family, In the midst of the pandemic and a thousand vicissitudes, we come to “our” month, the month in which Mary Magdalene’s feast day is celebrated around the world. For this reason, you will see our Facebook (Magdala and Magdala Español) and YouTube (Experience Magdala) transmissions packed with references to ‘our’ patron Mary…
My name is Daviana Hernandez, I´m 22 years old and a student of Gastronomy in Le Cordon Bleu IEST Anahuac University. I´m Mexican and from the state of Tamaulipas which I hold dear in my heart. I came to the Holy Land to volunteer in Magdala. I can say that my experience has been enriched…
Several months ago, I was searching for a smooth rock seat on Mt. Arbel at dawn, when I surprised a herd of Palestinian mountain gazelles grazing below in the morning twilight amidst a myriad of wildflowers decorating the bright green hillside. As I settled in with my Bible, surrounded by peach-colored flowers and red tulips,…
By Fr. Cristóbal Vilarroig No written document mentions when Magdala was founded. However, archeologists have concluded that the city was established somewhere in the second half of the 2nd century B.C. In those days, the successors of the Maccabees reigned in the region. Antiochus Epiphanes, King of Syria (which at the time included the territory…
