Saint Martha of Bethany: Life, Feast and Patronage

Saint Martha of Bethany is the sister of Mary and of Lazarus, the friend and hostess of Our Lord, who received Him into her house, served Him at table, and at the tomb of her brother made one of the great confessions of faith of the Gospel: "Yea, Lord, I have believed that thou art Christ, the Son of the living God." She is the patron saint of housewives, cooks, servants and all who keep a house and welcome guests, and an ancient tradition of Provence holds that she ended her days at Tarascon, on the Rhône, where she overcame the dragon called the Tarasque. The Church keeps her feast on 29 July, a feast of the third class in the 1962 calendar.

Who is Saint Martha? The Gospel accounts

Everything certain about St Martha is in three passages of the Gospels. Butler's Lives of the Saints reads them together: Martha, Mary and Lazarus lived at Bethany, "a small town two miles distant from Jerusalem, a little beyond Mount Olivet", and Our Lord often lodged with them when He preached in Judaea in the last year of His ministry. St John says simply: "Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister Mary and Lazarus" (John 11:5, Douay-Rheims). Martha seems to have been the eldest, the one who had the care of the house.

Martha and Mary (Luke 10:38–42)

"Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain town: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who, sitting also at the Lord's feet, heard his word. But Martha was busy about much serving. Who stood and said: Lord, hast thou no care that my sister hath left me alone to serve? Speak to her therefore, that she help me. And the Lord answering, said to her: Martha, Martha, thou art careful and art troubled about many things: But one thing is necessary. Mary hath chosen the best part, which shall not be taken away from her." (Luke 10:38–42)

This is the Gospel of her feast in the traditional Missal, and one of the most commented pages of Scripture. Our Lord does not reproach Martha for serving Him; He was well pleased, Butler says, with the love with which she waited on Him. He corrects the trouble and the many things, and teaches the order of the two lives. Martha's service is good; Mary's attention to God alone is better, because "one thing is necessary": in Butler's gloss, "eternal salvation is our only concern".

The Fathers, St Augustine above all, saw in the two sisters the two lives of the Church: the active life of labour, which passes, and the contemplative life of love, which will last forever in heaven. Martha's lesson is not to stop working, but to work for God with a quiet heart, so that the service of the hands flows from the prayer of the soul.

The raising of Lazarus (John 11)

When Lazarus fell sick, the sisters sent word to Jesus: "Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick." He came only when Lazarus had been four days in the tomb. Martha, as soon as she heard He was coming, went out to meet Him, while Mary stayed in the house:

"Martha therefore said to Jesus: Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. But now also I know that whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee. Jesus saith to her: Thy brother shall rise again. Martha saith to him: I know that he shall rise again, in the resurrection at the last day. Jesus said to her: I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in me, although he be dead, shall live: And every one that liveth and believeth in me shall not die for ever. Believest thou this? She saith to him: Yea, Lord, I have believed that thou art Christ, the Son of the living God, who art come into this world." (John 11:21–27)

Martha's words are almost those of St Peter at Caesarea Philippi. To her, the busy woman of the kitchen, Our Lord revealed Himself as "the resurrection and the life", and from her He received a full confession of His divinity before He raised her brother. At the tomb she is still herself, practical to the end: "Lord, by this time he stinketh, for he is now of four days" (John 11:39). And Lazarus came forth.

The supper at Bethany (John 12:1–2)

Six days before the Passover, Jesus came again to Bethany, "and they made him a supper there: and Martha served. But Lazarus was one of them that were at table with him" (John 12:2). Mary anointed His feet with costly ointment. Martha is the same as in Luke, serving; but now no word of correction is spoken. Her service has found its peace.

What is Saint Martha known for?

St Martha is known for three things: her hospitality to Christ, who chose her house as a home; her faith, confessed at the death of her brother; and her service, which made her for the Christian people the saint of the household. In the Western tradition her sister Mary of Bethany is commonly identified with St Mary Magdalen, as Butler notes; on her, see our page on St Mary Magdalene and the question of who Mary Magdalene was.

Saint Martha and the dragon: the tradition of Tarascon

The Gospels say nothing of Martha after the Resurrection. The Provençal tradition holds that after the Ascension, in a persecution in Judaea, Martha, Mary Magdalen and Lazarus, with other disciples, were set adrift in a boat without sails or oars and came ashore in the south of Gaul. Mary withdrew to a life of penance at the Sainte-Baume; Lazarus became bishop of Marseilles; Martha preached at Tarascon, on the Rhône.

There, the legend tells, a monstrous beast called the Tarasque, half dragon, half fish, haunted the river and devoured travellers. Armed men had failed against it. Martha went out alone, sprinkled it with holy water and held up the Cross, and the beast became tame as a lamb; she bound it with her girdle and led it into the town, where the people slew it. Martha lived on at Tarascon in prayer and penance with a community of women, and died there.

Butler is careful with this tradition, as with the parallel legends of St Mary Magdalen in Provence: the story is late in its present form and cannot be proved. But it is old, it gave Tarascon its name and its feast, and her relics were found at Tarascon in 1187 and enshrined in the church of St Martha, where they are still venerated. The meaning of the dragon is plain enough: the hostess of Christ overcomes the power of the devil with the Church's weapons, holy water and the sign of the Cross. That is why St Martha is so often painted with a dragon at her feet, an aspergillum or holy water stoup in her hand, and a bunch of keys or a ladle at her belt.

How did Saint Martha die?

Scripture does not tell us. According to the Provençal tradition, she died peacefully at Tarascon, after a life of prayer and penance, and was buried there; she is honoured as a virgin, not as a martyr. When she was born is likewise unknown: she was a contemporary of Our Lord, of the first century.

What is Saint Martha the patron saint of?

St Martha is the patron saint of:

• Housewives and housekeepers, and of all who manage a home;
• Cooks, and all who prepare food;
• Servants and domestic workers;
• Innkeepers, hosts and hotel-keepers, and of hospitality in general;
• Travellers, whom she welcomed;
• the town of Tarascon.

Why is St Martha the patron saint of housekeepers?

Because the Gospel shows her "busy about much serving", the eldest of the house of Bethany, running the household that received Christ. The Christian people have always seen her as the saint of the everyday work of the home, and of the holiness hidden in it. To have St Martha as patron is to learn from Our Lord's words to her: to do the work of the house for Him, without anxiety, and never to let the "many things" crowd out the "one thing necessary". The same lesson is taught by the works of mercy, among which feeding the hungry and harbouring the harmless stranger are Martha's own.

The feast of Saint Martha: 29 July

The feast of St Martha is kept on 29 July, eight days after that of St Mary Magdalen (22 July). In the 1962 Missal it is a feast of the third class, with the Mass Dilexisti of a virgin not a martyr, and the Gospel of Martha and Mary from St Luke; a commemoration is made of the Roman martyrs Sts Felix, Simplicius, Faustinus and Beatrix. The collect is that of the Common of Virgins:

Exaudi nos, Deus, salutaris noster: ut, sicut de beatae Marthae Virginis tuae festivitate gaudemus; ita piae devotionis erudiamur affectu. Per Dominum nostrum Iesum Christum Filium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

Hear us, O God our Saviour, that as we rejoice in the festival of blessed Martha, Thy Virgin, so we may be taught the affection of loving devotion. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.

Since 2021, the reformed calendar keeps on this day a memorial of "Saints Martha, Mary and Lazarus" together. The traditional calendar keeps 29 July for St Martha alone, as it has done for centuries, with St Mary Magdalen on 22 July.

A prayer to Saint Martha

Besides the collect of her feast, the prayer most often said to her is the traditional St Martha, I resort to thy aid and protection, the heart of the novena to St Martha of Bethany, which gives it in full with the nine days and the Tuesday devotion. Prayers circulated under the name "Saint Martha the Dominator", meant to bend another person's will, are superstition and not Catholic prayer: St Martha's intercession is asked, never commanded. For every day, the collect of her feast given above is the Church's own prayer through her, asking that we be taught "the affection of loving devotion".

For the order of intercession behind such prayers, see why Catholics pray to the saints. For the other saints of the traditional calendar, month by month, see our guide to the Catholic saints.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who was Saint Martha in the Bible?

The sister of Mary and Lazarus of Bethany, near Jerusalem, whose house Our Lord often visited. She appears in Luke 10 (Martha and Mary), John 11 (the raising of Lazarus, where she confesses Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God) and John 12 (the supper at Bethany, where "Martha served").

Is Martha a saint?

Yes. She has been venerated as a saint since the early centuries, without any formal canonization, which did not yet exist. Her feast, 29 July, is in the traditional Roman calendar.

When is Saint Martha's feast day?

29 July. In the 1962 calendar it is a third-class feast of St Martha, Virgin, with a commemoration of the martyrs Felix, Simplicius, Faustinus and Beatrix.

Why is Saint Martha shown with a dragon?

Because of the Provençal tradition that at Tarascon she tamed the Tarasque, a dragon that ravaged the country, with holy water and the sign of the Cross. It is a legend, but it expresses a truth: Christ's friends overcome the devil with the weapons of the Church.

Why is Saint Martha a saint?

For her love of Christ, shown in her hospitality and service; for her faith, confessed at the tomb of Lazarus in the same words as St Peter; and for the holiness of her life, which tradition says ended in prayer and penance. Our Lord Himself loved her, St John tells us.

What is the difference between Martha and Mary?

Martha served Our Lord with her hands, Mary sat at His feet and listened. Our Lord praised Mary's "best part" without condemning Martha's service. The Church sees in them the active and the contemplative lives, both holy, the second higher because it continues in heaven.

The Iter Fidei app carries the 1962 calendar of the saints with the feast of St Martha on 29 July, the propers of the Mass, and the prayers to the saints in Latin and English. Join early access here.

Sources. Holy Scripture, Douay-Rheims version (Luke 10:38–42; John 11:1–44; John 12:1–2); Butler's Lives of the Saints, 29 July (St Martha, Virgin) and 22 July (St Mary Magdalen); St Augustine, sermons on Martha and Mary; the Roman Missal of 1962, Mass Dilexisti and collect of St Martha (29 July).