Did you know after Jesus' death, Mary of Magdala, her children, Jesus' parents and others were smuggled by ship out of Jerusalem and taken to a large Israeli population in France?
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Royal Bloodline flees to France
After Jesus' ascension, Mary Magdalene, her children, Jesus' mother, Joseph of Arimathea, Martha, and others were smuggled out of Jerusalem to a large Israeli population in France by Lazarus of Bethany and Maximinus, one of the Seventy Disciples.
They left the Holy Land, traversed the Mediterranean in a frail boat with neither rudder nor mast and landed at the place called Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer near Arles.
Lazarus came to Marseille and converted the whole of Provence.
Mary of Magdala retired to a cave on a hill by Marseille, La Sainte-Baume ("Holy Cave"), where she gave herself up to a life of prayer and contemplation. The cave is now a Christian pilgrimage site.
Royal Bloodline acknowledged by Pope and Kings of France
Pilgrimages have been made to the "Holy Cave" since the 5th century. Kings, popes and saints have walked the “King’s Path” to visit the cave where Mary's remains are on display.
By the fifteenth century, King Louis XI of France acknowledged Mary Magdalene as the source of the French royal line.
King Charlemagne, who ruled Hapsburg, recognized her royalty, as well.
Louis IX of France visited the grotto in 1254.
In 1295, the construction of a basilica was begun at Sainte-Baume and the crypt, containing the remains of Mary, was consecrated in 1316.
King Louis XI made the pilgrimage to to to Sainte-Baume in 1447 and in 1456 praying to Mary Magdalene for a son. In 1470, Charles VIII was born.
This was not the first time the Royal Bloodline had to flee from their home. Jesus' parents, Mary and Joseph, had to flee Bethlehem for Egypt shortly after Jesus' birth to prevent Herod the Great from killing him.
The sanctuary of Sainte-Baume, also known as Mary Magdalene’s cave, is where Saint Mary Magdalene took refuge during the last years of her life.
The Basilica of Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume in France still displays the skull and several bones of Mary Magdalene.
King Louis XI of France, made pilgrimage to St. Mary Magdalene's remains at La Sainte Baume in 1447.
Every year, on a Sunday closest to the feast of Mary Magdalene, 22 July, a golden mask is placed on Mary Magdalene's skull and a procession carries the saint around the city.
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