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Where, if, in your day, you were to visit the village called Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, you would encounter the annual gathering of Gypsies who remember and honour through time the coming of the Two Marys (in fact more, if the truth be known) and a veiled girl-child they call Sar’h.
Anna, the voice of the Magdalenes
The Gypsy Pilgrimage (Pèlerinage Gitan) in Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer
Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer is a small coastal village in the Camargue region of southern France (Provence), where the Rhône River meets the Mediterranean Sea. It is famous for its white horses, flamingos, marshes, and historic fortified church right by the beach.
Every year (mainly May 24–25, with a smaller event in October), thousands of Romani people (Gypsies/Roma, including Gitans, Manouches, and others from across Europe and beyond) gather for a vibrant religious and cultural pilgrimage. It is one of the largest and most colorful annual Romani gatherings in the world, drawing 25,000–40,000 people at its peak. The town transforms into a lively encampment with music, dancing, family reunions, baptisms, and traditional costumes.
The central figure for the Romani community is Saint Sarah (Sara-la-Kali or “Sara the Black”), their unofficial patron saint. Her dark-skinned statue is kept in the crypt of the Church of the Saintes-Maries.
They also venerate the “Two Marys” (or sometimes referred to as the Saintes-Maries): Mary Salome (Marie Salomé) and Mary Jacobe (Marie Jacobé). These are traditionally seen as women connected to Jesus.
The legend says these women (sometimes including Mary Magdalene and their servant Sarah) fled persecution after the crucifixion, crossed the sea in a rudderless boat, and landed on this shore in the 1st century. Sarah is said to have welcomed them or arrived with them.
Main rituals
- May 24: The statue of Sara-la-Kali (often dressed in colorful robes and jewelry by pilgrims) is carried in procession from the church crypt to the sea. It is taken into the water for blessing, accompanied by singing, white Camargue horses, and crowds. This symbolizes Sara welcoming or awaiting the arriving Marys.
- May 25: A solemn mass is held, followed by a procession carrying the statues/boat of the Two Marys to the sea, again with horses, traditional costumes, and celebration.
- Pilgrims light candles, leave prayer notes, venerate relics in the church, and many children are baptized during the week.
From Wiki
A medieval legendary account had Mary Magdalene, Mary of Jacob and Mary Salome, Mark’s Three Marys at the Tomb, or Mary Magdalene, Mary of Cleopas and Mary Salome, with Saint Sarah, the maid of one of them, as part of a group who landed near Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer in Provence after a voyage from the Holy Land. The group sometimes includes Lazarus, who became bishop of Aix-en-Provence, Mary of Bethany, his sister, and Joseph of Arimathea. They settled at Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, where their relics are a focus of the Pilgrimage to Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer. The feast of the Three Marys was celebrated mainly in France and Italy, and was accepted by the Carmelite Order into their liturgy in 1342.
