The Three Maries in Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer
Nestled on the picturesque shores of the Camargue, Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, one of the most emblematic towns of Southern France, boasts an exceptional history, said to date back to the earliest days of Christianity.
Legend blends with reality, for the town is said to have been the refuge of Mary Jacob, Mary Salome, and Mary Magdalene, the Three Marys, when they fled Palestine. Forced to leave their homeland, they found themselves adrift on a makeshift raft, at the mercy of the Mediterranean currents. Their vessel eventually ran aground on the Camargue coast, at a place called Oppidum Ra or Notre-Dame-de-Ratis (the word “ratis” meaning raft in Gaulish).
The site was renamed Notre-Dame-de-la-Barque, then Notre-Dame-de-la-Mer, before becoming Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer in 1838 in homage to the Three Marys.
According to Christian tradition, the three Marys arrived accompanied by several companions, including Martha, Lazarus, Maximin of Bethany, Sidonius, and Joseph of Arimathea, bearer of the Holy Grail. While the others continued their journey across France, spreading the teachings of Christianity, the Three Marys chose to remain in the village, where they lived until their deaths.
Another version recounts that Mary Magdalene left Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer to retire to a cave nestled in the mountains of La Baume, in the Var region, where she spent the rest of her life. This story gained prominence in 1279 with the discovery of a sarcophagus in the crypt of the Church of St. Maximin de La Baume. The numerous miracles attributed to the site prompted the church to declare it the tomb of Mary Magdalene, making Saint-Maximin-de-La-Baume a place of pilgrimage.
A third version recounts that upon their arrival on the Camargue coast, the Three Marys and their companions were welcomed by Sara la Noire – Sara the Black, who became their devoted servant. Mary Jacob, Mary Salome, and Sara the Black were buried near the oratory they had founded, their tombs quickly becoming an important pilgrimage site and a stop on the Way of St. James (Camino de Santiago).
Over time, the humble oratory proved insufficient to accommodate the influx of faithful from all over Christendom and was replaced by a grand church. The legend of the Three Marys is known as the Légende Dorée – Golden Legend.
Légende Dorée – Golden Legend
However, the Légende Dorée was written in the 1260s by the Archbishop of Genoa and is a comprehensive chronicle of the lives of approximately 150 Christian saints and martyrs.
The pilgrimage to Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer became so important that in 1343, the Pope decreed its celebration on May 25 and October 22, thus anchoring its significance in Christian tradition. Then, the cult of Mary Magdalene, initially linked to that of the other two Marys, was adopted by Saint Maximin de la Baume. Unlike the tradition of the Three Marys, the legend of Sarah appeared relatively late, in 1521, within the Legend of the Holy Marys.
To capitalise on the fervour of the faithful, the relics of the saints were supposedly “discovered” during this same period. The bones believed to belong to Mary Salome and Mary Jacob were kept in sumptuous reliquaries, and those attributed to their servant Sara were gathered in a simple wooden box and buried in a crypt to the right of the altar. The Church of Rome instituted the commemorations of Mary Jacob on May 25, that of Mary Salome on October 22, and a third time on December 3. During the processions to the sea, which usually took place in May and October, the two saints were reverently placed on a boat, according to sacred ritual. The celebration of Sara the Black was fixed on May 24.
Pillows of the Three Maries
The site of Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer has been inhabited by humans since prehistoric times, as evidenced by archaeological discoveries that unearthed submerged tombs off the coast of the village.
These graves contained three finely carved marble stelae, which had been placed beneath the heads of skeletons. Two of these stelae, later named the “Pillows of the Saints,” were identified as funerary stelae, while the third was recognised as a taurobolic altar.
In pagan times, the site of Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer was indeed a sacred place dedicated to the three Celtic Matres, the goddesses of fertility, suggesting that these carved stelae were closely linked to the rites performed there.
Later excavations revealed a Phoenician (Greek) temple dedicated to Artemis. However, when the Romans colonised Provence in the 2nd century BC, they transformed the temple, which they dedicated to Juno, their goddess of marriage, and to Mithras, a deity associated with alliances and oaths. Over time, the Christian Church adapted pagan traditions to its own. This is how the Matres stelae became the Pillows of the Three Marys!
Sara la Noire
The legend of the Three Marys and Sara is inextricably linked to the sea, a symbol of refuge and salvation. Originally known as Sara the Black, she was later venerated as Sainte Sara, patron saint of the Romani people.
According to Christian tradition, Sara was the faithful black servant of the Three Marys. However, another account suggests that Sara was a noblewoman from Upper Egypt, who had been rejected by King Herod and had converted to the Abrahamic religion.
Her legend, unlike that of the Three Marys, first appeared in 1521 in the Golden Legend. However, the cult of Sainte Sara remained relatively obscure until around 1800.
Indeed, it was only in 1936 that the Romani community established the tradition of the procession to the sea, during which they ritually immerse the statue of Sara up to its waist. This immersion tradition is, of course, linked to the legend of the Marys landing on the shores of the Camargue and throwing themselves into the water. However, this immersion rite was also a pagan tradition intended for the purification of body and soul.
Some historians suggest that the Roma, a nomadic people originating from India, adopted Sara the Black because of her similarities to Kali, the Hindu goddess of Creation, Disease, and Death. Similar practices of immersing Kali in water are indeed observed in Indian rituals.
Gypsy pilgrimage to Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer
The cult of Sainte Sara is an annual pilgrimage and a major religious event for the Romani community. Celebrated on May 24th and 25th, it has attracted Romani people from all over Europe since 1935.
The first Romani people arrived in France with their horse-drawn caravans at the beginning of the 15th century, and following Sara’s canonisation in 1521, they established the pilgrimage to Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer. These gatherings soon transformed into joyous festivals, punctuated by songs and dances.
The pilgrimage tradition was disrupted during the French Revolution, but accounts of miracles and healings attributed to Saint Sara revived it in the 1800s. However, a malaria epidemic spread through the Camargue region in the following decades, driving out the inhabitants and leaving Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer deserted.
The Roma resumed their pilgrimages in 1852 in the company of other pilgrims, rather than during a specific ceremony. The inauguration of a railway line facilitated the massive influx of the faithful, and the Roma resumed their journeys to the Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer.
Marquis Folco de Baroncelli-Javon
The colourful religious and folkloric processions were a resounding success, prompting in 1921 the Bishop of Aix to authorise a Gypsy Mass in the crypt housing Sara’s reliquary. The Marquis eventually obtained official Church recognition of the cult of Sainte Sara, a significant step in integrating Gypsy traditions into the clergy.
Then, on May 25, 1935, the Roma obtained permission to carry the statue of Sara and partially immerse it in the sea during the procession to Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer. Over the years, this pilgrimage has grown in popularity, becoming a major religious event that unites the international Gypsy community, and has also become a unique tourist phenomenon, attracting thousands of visitors each year.
Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer Romanesque church
Let’s finish briefly with the church.
In the High Middle Ages, the coastline was frequently besieged by pirates and invaders, which led to the construction of the fortified Church of Notre-Dame-de-la-Mer between the 9th and 12th centuries.
Its robust defences, which include crenellated ramparts and machicolations, initially served as watchtowers from which guards could spot dangers coming from the sea. In times of peril, the church indeed served as a refuge for the local population and even housed a freshwater well.
Department of Bouches-du-Rhône
Coordinates: Lat 43.453241 – Long 4.429074
Photos via Wikimedia Commons: Photo1 by Acediscovery CC BY 4.0 – Plage du Grand Radeau by Canal dolly CC BY-SA 4.0 – Fortified ND de la Mer by Wolfgang Staudt CC BY 2.0 – Pillow des three Maries by Finoskov CC BY-SA 4.0 – Ritual sea bath by Fiore S. Barbato CC BY-SA 2.0 – Header by Nicolas Vigier CC0 – See from above by Jean-Louis Vandevivère CC BY-SA 2.0 – Sainte Sara la Noire by Rio0601 CC BY-SA 4.0
