The Untold Truth Of Mary Magdalene

Because Mary Magdalene was confused with a prostitute for so long, she got a connection to "wayward women" in general. This led to her name being associated with Magdalene Laundries (sometimes Asylums), that were truly horrific places.

Started in England in 1758 as a home for "penitent prostitutes," the idea soon spread to Ireland and America. But by the mid-1800s, some people, including Charles Dickens, thought the Magdalene Laundries were too extreme. Tragically, they would get worse.

History says that by the 1900s, the institutions were no longer for prostitutes trying to get out of the business. Instead, any "fallen woman" could be sent there, for things like sex outside of marriage, being an unwed mother, or even just being deemed too "tempting to men." Or they might be sent for no clear reason at all. Once there, the girls were held against their will in "prison-like" conditions. They wore uniforms, lived on bread and water, and did forced labor. Punishments included having their heads shaved, severely restricted contact with the outside world, and regular beatings from the nuns who ran the institutions. The babies of pregnant women were taken by force and given up for adoption. Girls and women died by the dozens and were often buried in unmarked graves. This was happening in Ireland until the 1990s.

Plenty of women who lived in the laundries are still alive and speaking out about the atrocities they faced. These stories probably have Mary Magdalene spinning in her French cave.

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