Aboard the papal plane, 29 July, 2024 / 11:15 am (ACI Africa).
"Jesus loved Martha, and her sister Mary, and Lazarus" (John 11:5).
Sts. Martha, Mary, and Lazarus were three siblings living in the town of Bethany outside of Jerusalem during the time of Christ. Pope Francis added this memorial to the General Roman Calendar on 2 February 2021, giving the three siblings the combined feast day of July 29, previously the memorial of St. Martha. As an obligatory memorial, it must be observed.
According to the Decree of the new memorial from the Congregation for Divine Worship, the Holy Father included the three saints in the General Roman Calendar “considering the important evangelical witness they offered in welcoming the Lord Jesus into their home, in listening to him attentively, in believing that he is the resurrection and the life.”
While the memorial of St. Martha was included in the General Roman Calendar before the Second Vatican Council, that of St. Lazarus and St. Mary had been originally left off due to uncertainty about the identity of Mary Magdalene. These uncertainties “have been resolved in recent studies and times,” Pope Francis’ Decree indicated, adding that Mary and Lazarus are already commemorated on July 29 in the Roman Martyrology, the Church’s official catalog of martyrs and saints.
The Decree that the then Prefect of the Divine Worship congregation, Robert Cardinal Sarah, signed, states that “in the household of Bethany the Lord Jesus experienced the family spirit and friendship of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, and for this reason, the Gospel of John states that he loved them.”