The medieval legend says that when death was at hand, the angels took Mary Magdalene to the nearby town where she died in the arms of her dear friend St Maximen. In the 13th century a basilica was built to honor Mary Magdalene and house her relics. La Basilique Sainte-Marie-Madeleine has many wonderful images beginning with the great carved door that shows the Magdalene’s major iconographical symbols – the cross, the skull, the book and the ointment jar. Before I traveled to Europe I had never seen the book in association with Mary Magdalene: it refers to her capacity as a learned student, teacher and preacher.