Saint Joanna the Myrrhbearer

Memorial: 24 May (Roman calendar)
27 June (Orthodox calendar)
Profile: 1st century lay woman. Married to Chusa, steward of King Herod Antipas. Disciple of Jesus, and mentioned in Luke (8.3) as providing for Jesus and the Apostles. Eastern tradition says that she gave the head of John the Baptist an honourable burial. One of the women Luke says (24.10) discovered the empty tomb on the first Easter when she went to anoint the body, and celebrated on the 3rd Sunday of Pascha in the Orthodox Church as the Myrrh-bearers. She is especially venerated by the Jesuits.
Canonized: Pre-Congregation
Representation: ointment box
woman carrying an ointment box
woman with a cross in her arms and a lamb standing hearby
woman carrying a pitcher in a basket
woman standing with her husband standing among court ladies hearing Jesus preach
Images: Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
Additional Information: Book of Saints, by the Monks of Ramsgate
Ecole Initiative, by Karen Rae Keck
Our Sunday Visitor's Encyclopedia of Saints, by Matthew Bunson, Margaret Bunson, and Stephen Bunson
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