Today the church calendar remembers St. Gregory the Great, bishop of Rome and one of the so-called “Doctors of the Church.” Gregory is remembered for his leadership, his writings, and his influence on shaping the medieval church.
But he is also remembered for something else. In the year 591, Gregory preached a sermon that forever changed how the church viewed Mary Magdalene. In his sermon, he identified Mary as a prostitute, conflating her with the unnamed woman who anointed Jesus’ feet. This was not based on the biblical text itself, but on his own interpretation and authority.
That act of misnaming and mischaracterizing has echoed through the centuries. Mary Magdalene, the first witness to the resurrection, the apostle to the apostles, was instead remembered by the church as “impure.” Her witness was diminished. Her truth was denied. Her story was rewritten.
This is not just about Mary. It is about the way the church has treated women for centuries, casting us as fallen, unworthy, or sinful, even while depending on our leadership and witness. It is about the way marginalized people are silenced when their truth threatens the authority of the powerful.
As trans and queer people, many of us know what it is like to be misnamed, misrepresented, and diminished. Like Mary Magdalene, we too have been called impure. But the gospel tells a different story. Mary was not defined by Gregory’s sermon. She was defined by Christ’s resurrection, by her role as the first to proclaim the good news: “I have seen the Lord.”
And so today, as we remember Gregory, we also remember the damage done when the church rewrites people’s stories to serve its own purposes. We choose instead to honor Mary Magdalene for who she truly was: apostle, witness, disciple, beloved of Christ. And we claim our own truth as fearfully, wonderfully, and gloriously made in God’s image.
