Mission San Luis Rey de Francia Photo

Photographer’s Note

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This is the statue of Jesus and Mary Magdalene I took at Mission San Luis Rey recently. Mary Magdalene is mentioned in the gospels as being among the women of Galilee who followed Jesus and his disciples, and who was at his crucifixion and burial. She was the first to see the Risen Lord, and to announce his resurrection to the apostles. Accordingly, she is referred to in early Christian writings as "the apostle to the apostles."

Mary Magdalene, Mary of Bethany, and the unnamed penitent woman who anointed Jesus’ feet are sometimes supposed to be the same woman. From this, plus the statement that Jesus had cast seven demons out of her (Luke 8:2), has risen the tradition that she had been a prostitute before she met Jesus.

Because of the assumption that Mary Magdalene had been a spectacular sinner, and also perhaps because she is described as weeping at the tomb of Jesus on the resurrection morning, she is often portrayed in art as weeping, or with eyes red from having wept.

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Tucked away in a quiet North San Diego County Valley, just a few miles from the Pacific Ocean, you will find a majestic jewel of early California history called Mission San Luis Rey.

Mission San Luis Rey de Francia founded on June 13, 1798 by Fr. Fermin de Lasuen 5 years before his death as the 18th in a line of twenty-one California Missions.

Although the last mission to be founded in the south, San Luis Rey the "King of the Missions" came to be the largest and richest of all. A great quadrangle was 500 feet on a side. An intricate aqueduct system supplied water for the mission and gardens as well as for pools used for bathing and laundry. Walking through the Sunken Gardens or along the arched colonnade, you will be transported to the past, imagining the everyday life of the Franciscan Friars and Indians who inhabited the Mission more than two centuries ago.

Nicknamed "King of the missions", Mission San Luis Rey was the largest and most populous of all the California missions. Its buildings covered 6 acres of land, and its Native American population reached 2,700 at its peak. Its important location filled the critical gap between San Diego and San Juan Capistrano. Mission San Luis Rey also had the largest herd of livestock of any of the missions. In addition to the greater than 50,000 cattle and sheep, they had 1,300 goats, 300 pigs, and almost 2,000 horses.

(Compiled from Google)

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TRASH (0) 2006-07-01 7:10

Thanks for bringing up this picture. The special & obvious relationship in existence between Jesus and Mary Magdalene is always a sensitive question that may trigger some allergic reaction. Upon your today posting, I made a quick search and found some interesting information:

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Question: "Who was Mary Magdalene?"

Answer: Mary Magdalene was a woman from whom Jesus cast out seven demons (Luke 8:2). The name Magdalene likely indicates that she came from Magdala, a city on the southwest coast of the Sea of Galilee. After Jesus cast seven demons from her, she became one of His followers.

Mary Magdalene has been associated with the "woman in the city who was a sinner" (Luke 7:37) who washed Jesus' feet, but there is no scriptural basis for this. The city of Magdala did have a reputation for prostitution. This information, coupled with the fact that Luke first mentions Mary Magdalene immediately following his account of the sinful woman (Luke 7:36-50), has led some to equate the two women. John 11:2, though, identifies the women in Luke 7:36-50 as Mary of Bethany, not Mary Magdalene.

Mary Magdalene is also often associated with the woman whom Jesus saved from stoning after she had been taken in adultery (John 8:1-11) - again an association with no evidence. The movie “The Passion of the Christ” made this connection. This view is possible, but not explicitly taught in the Bible.

Mary Magdalene witnessed most of the events surrounding the crucifixion. She was present at the mock trial of Jesus; she heard Pontius Pilate pronounce the death sentence; and she saw Jesus beaten and humiliated by the crowd. She was one of the women who stood near Jesus during the crucifixion to try to comfort Him. The earliest witness to the resurrection of Jesus, she was sent by Jesus to tell the others (John 20:11-18). Although this is the last mention of her in the Bible, she was probably among the women who gathered with the apostles to await the promised coming of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:14).

The recent fiction novel “The DaVinci Code” makes the claim that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married. Some of the non-Biblical early Christian writings (that were considered heresy by the early Christians) hint at a special relationship between Mary Magdalene and Jesus. However, there is no evidence whatsoever to support the belief that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married. The Bible does not even hint at such an idea. (Source)