For the first time, the Custody of the Holy Land's archaeological site in the town of Magdala became a place of celebration. In 1889 the Custody decided to purchase land here likely to contain the ancient remains of what was believed to be the home of Jesus' disciple. On July 22, the Franciscan community in the Galilee region celebrated the feast of Mary Magdalene at the very site of her hometown of Magdala, on the western shore of Lake Tiberias. A liturgical memorial that Pope Francis, in a decree dated June 3, 2016, wanted to make more solemn by raising it to the same rank as the feasts that celebrate the apostles. Brother Francesco Patton who presided over the Celebration also recalled Brother Frederic Manns to describe the first meeting between Jesus and Mary of Magdala. "Mary teaches us at least three fundamental things," the Custos highlighted in his homily, "the value of fidelity, love and witness. It is she who accompanies Jesus all the way to Jerusalem, who remains, under the cross, on Calvary, faithful to his Master, faithful to his Lord. But above all it is she," continued Br. Patton, "who first meets the Risen One before the empty tomb, becoming the first witness to Jesus' victory over death." The celebration ended with a striking procession of the community and the faithful along a route that passed through the entire area of the archaeological excavations of the ancient city of the "Apostle of the Apostles." Br FRANCESCO PATTON, ofm Custos of the Holy Land In fact, the church fathers-in Latin-called her "Apostola Apostolorum" that is, "the Apostle of the Apostles" the one who was sent to those who would later be sent throughout the world. She is the first to announce that Jesus is risen. The Custos of the Holy Land also spoke about the importance of this initiative. Br FRANCESCO PATTON, ofm Custos of the Holy Land For me this day is important precisely because it is the first time that this place becomes a shrine, that is, a holy place. A place is an archeological site if we are no longer there to celebrate, to pray. What we have done today is somehow to make this place of meeting with the Lord again, a place of prayer and a place of celebration. "The excavations that have taken place from the 1970s to the present," explains Br. Tymoteusz Marszałek, Superior of the community and in charge of the archaeological site of the city of Mary Magdalene, "have brought to light the entire port area. This makes Magdala the most intact example of an ancient port so far identified on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, with important archaeological remains that testify to the richness of this city. A large Byzantine monastery dating to the fifth century, with extraordinary mosaics, has also emerged, where the community in charge of the shrine dedicated to Mary Magdalene probably resided." Br FRANCESCO PATTON, ofm Custos of the Holy Land I believe that in the future so many pilgrims will be able to come here and visit this fragment of the ancient city of Magdala. So with today we could say, this goes back to being not simply an archaeological site, but a holy place, a place of prayer. I hope that those who come here will have the same experience that Mary of Magdala had when she first met Jesus.