The sister of Martha and Lazarus in the Gospels, remembered for sitting at Jesus’s feet to listen and for anointing him before his passion.

Saint Mary of Bethany appears in the Gospels as the sister of Martha and Lazarus, living in the village of Bethany near Jerusalem. She is remembered for choosing to sit at Jesus’s feet listening to his teaching while her sister Martha attended to household tasks, and, in the Gospel of John, for anointing Jesus’s feet with costly perfumed oil shortly before his passion, an act he defended as preparation for his burial.

Quick Facts

• Died: 1st century
• Feast Day: July 29 (with Saints Martha and Lazarus of Bethany)
• Venerated as: Disciple of Jesus; sister of Saints Martha and Lazarus of Bethany

Who Was Saint Mary of Bethany?

Mary of Bethany is presented in the Gospels as a devoted disciple who prioritized listening to Jesus’s teaching, a choice he himself defended when her sister Martha complained that Mary had left her to serve alone, saying Mary had “chosen the better part.” She also appears at Lazarus’s tomb weeping, and in a memorable scene shortly before the Passion, anointing Jesus’s feet with expensive perfume.

Historical Setting

The household of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus in Bethany, a village on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho, is presented in the Gospels as a place of close personal friendship with Jesus, distinct from the larger public crowds of much of his ministry, offering a rare glimpse of his private relationships during his final years.

Why the Church Remembers Saint Mary of Bethany

Mary of Bethany is remembered as a model of contemplative attentiveness to Christ’s word, and her anointing of Jesus shortly before his death has long been read by the Church as an act of prophetic devotion, recognizing, in some sense, what was coming even before the events of Holy Week unfolded.

Canonization and Feast Day

As a New Testament figure, Mary of Bethany’s veneration predates the formal processes of beatification and canonization, resting on the Gospel record and continuous Christian devotion since the earliest centuries. Her feast, shared with her siblings, is kept on July 29.

What Catholics Can Learn Today

Mary’s choice to set aside practical tasks to sit and listen to Jesus is a perennial challenge to believers whose lives are crowded with activity, a reminder that time spent simply attending to Christ’s word is never wasted, however unproductive it may appear by ordinary standards.

A Prayer to Saint Mary of Bethany

Saint Mary of Bethany, who chose to sit at the feet of the Lord and listen, help us to make room for silence and attentiveness in our busy lives. Teach us to recognize and honor Christ’s presence before it is too late, as you did. Amen.

Sources

• Luke 10:38-42; John 11:1-44; John 12:1-8
• New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia
• Butler’s Lives of the Saints