Three years ago, on my last day of volunteering in Magdala, I asked Father Juan what had led him to depict Mary Magdalene in that particular way in the Duc in Altum chapel. From the very first moment I saw her, I had been fascinated. He explained it to me and asked me for a favor: to find the homily by Pope Benedict XVI that had inspired him, in which Mary Magdalene is described as a figure of the new creation, a new Eve. Three years later, I am still searching. I have found much information, many articles, commentaries, and homilies, but not the one he requested. Nevertheless, like Mary Magdalene going to the tomb in search of the Lord, I persist in my endeavor to find it.

The saint is portrayed as a new woman after being freed from the seven demons by Jesus. She wears a new pink robe, the color of joy, symbolizing her new life, while underneath one can glimpse her old, tattered brown garment, a reflection of her former life. Behind her appear six hideous demons; only one, in the form of a serpent, still clings to her arm. Jesus, with His commanding finger, will ultimately destroy it. In her face, luminous and serene, the transformation is reflected.

The encounter with her Rabbuni, her Master, who calls her by her name — “Mary!” — is what fully frees her, helping her to heal completely and restore her dignity. She begins to believe in herself, and her life takes on new meaning. She feels truly loved and free to love and to proclaim that she has seen the Lord. Thus, she becomes a new woman, for whom, as Saint Paul says, “old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new,” because “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation” (2 Cor 5:17). Mary Magdalene thus becomes united to the figure of Christ, the figure of the new creation, the new covenant, and therefore, she can be identified with the figure of a New Eve. This is how Hippolytus of Rome first defined her. Later, Gregory of Nyssa, Ambrose, and Augustine would do likewise. For just as through one woman, Eve, death spread where there was once life, through another woman, Mary Magdalene, life was proclaimed from a place of death. Through one woman, Eve, the image of the female sex was marred; through the other, Mary Magdalene, it was forever restored.

Since the early days of the Church, Mary Magdalene has been — and continues to be — an attractive and inspiring figure for many Christian authors, both saints and non-saints, becoming a model of healing, conversion, and unconditional love for Christ. Even Pope Francis, of blessed memory, in 2016 recalled her title of “Apostle of the Apostles” (already known in the Church) and elevated her liturgical memorial to the rank of a feast, placing it on par with that of the apostles. Thus, her importance as the first witness of the Risen Christ and the first evangelizer of the Lord’s resurrection is even more highlighted. For this reason, in Magdala, Mary Magdalene’s hometown, her feast is celebrated not only on July 22 but also on the first Saturday of the Octave of Easter.

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