Martha of Bethany

The gospels place her at Bethany, a village near Jerusalem, where she receives Jesus. Luke describes her busy with serving while her sister Mary sits at the master's feet to listen; when she complains, he answers that her sister has chosen the better part. John gives her a graver role: at the death of her brother Lazarus it is she who goes out to meet Jesus and makes one of the clearest professions of faith in the gospels, recognising him as the Christ, the Son of God come into the world. She appears again serving at table during the supper at Bethany, six days before the Passion. A late Provençal tradition has her landing in the Camargue and delivering Tarascon from a monster; historians find nothing established in it. Her feast falls on 29 July, which became in 2021 a joint memorial with Mary and Lazarus.