Important Dates in the Lives of Jesus and Mary 

    There is no direct statement in the Gospels which contradicts Blessed Anne Catherine's assertion that the 

Salome at the tomb was not the Salome who was the mother of the sons of Zebedee. But Matthew's Gospel 

plainly says that the mother of the sons of Zebedee was present at the Crucifixion of Jesus with Mary 

Magdalene and Mary the mother of James. 

     There were also many women there, looking on from afar, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, 

ministering to him; among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the 

mother of the sons of Zebedee.  (Mt 27:55 56). 

    Notice that the women named here were from Galilee. The mother of the sons of Zebedee was from 

Galilee, as is clear from the occupation of her husband and sons fishermen on the sea of Galilee (Mt 4:18 

22). On the other hand, the other Salome mentioned by Blessed Anne Catherine was a rich lady from 

Jerusalem, not a fisherman's wife from Galilee. 

    Now, Matthew's Gospel does not specifically say that the mother of the sons of Zebedee helped to buy the 

spices, or that she went to the tomb with the other women. However, Mark's Gospel tells us that a women 

named Salome was with Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James at the Crucifixion, and that these 

women were from Galilee (Mk 15:40 41). This Salome was from Galilee, not Jerusalem. And this Salome is 

again named, with Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James, as one of the women who obtained the 

spices and went to the tomb (Mk 16:1). 

    Sacred Scripture does not specifically tell us that the mother of the sons of Zebedee was named Salome, and 

that she was the one who bought spices and went to the tomb with the other women. But Mark's Gospel gives 

the name Salome with Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James in the same description, of the women 

looking upon the Crucifixion, where Matthew's Gospel tells us that the mother of the sons of Zebedee was 

with Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James. And Mark's Gospel is clear that this Salome was from 

Galilee, not Jerusalem. Therefore, the Salome who bought spices and went to the tomb with Mary Magdalene 

and the other Mary was the mother of the sons of Zebedee. 

The Trip to the Tomb 

    Blessed Anne Catherine describes how four holy women, Mary Magdalene, Mary Cleophas, Johanna 

Chusa, and Salome, began their trip to the tomb very early, when  the morning sky began to clear with a 

streak of white light, 

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 and again,  As soon as a faint glimmering of dawn appeared in the east . 

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 The sun 

had not yet risen, but the sky was beginning to brighten, which occurs about an hour or so before sunrise. They 

carried a lighted lantern with them, and so it must have been still quite dark out (cf. Jn 20:1). 

    Even though none of the Gospels names all four of these women as traveling to the tomb together, Matthew 

and Mark name three of the four: Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James (=Mary Cleophas), and a third 

woman, whom Matthew calls the mother of the sons of Zebedee and whom Mark names as Salome. The 

fourth holy woman, Johanna Chusa, is named by Luke's Gospel as being among this company of women, 

though Luke does not specifically state that she was at the tomb. Thus this description of events by Blessed 

Anne Catherine finds significant support in Sacred Scripture. 

    The four holy women brought spices with them to anoint the dead body of Jesus Christ. Clearly, none of the 

women expected Jesus to be risen from the dead on this day. 

    The trip to the tomb began near the Cenaculum (the Cenacle) in Jerusalem. Jesus was buried in a garden not 

far from the place of the Crucifixion (cf. Jn 19:42).  This garden was at least seven minute's distance from 

Mount Calvary, near the Bethlehem gate, and on the height that sloped down to the city wall. 

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 The length of 

time it took the women to travel to the tomb is uncertain, but the tomb was most likely less than half an hour's 

walk away. Thus, the sun would still not have risen when the women arrived at the garden. This timing agrees 

with the Gospels of Matthew, Luke, and John, which each use different wording to tell us that the women 

went to the tomb before the sun rose (Mt 28:1; Lk 24:1; Jn 20:1). 

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