I’ve always been fascinated by the fact that Mary Magdalene is a highly honored patron saint in the city of Kawit in the Philippines. Although I’ve never been there, I’ve spoken to a few people from the Philippines who consider MM their patron saint, including some sisters from a Filipino monastic order devoted to her.

It appears from this article that there is a thriving Kawiteños Filipino community in the San Diego area that holds a cultural celebration every year coinciding with MM’s feast day on July 22nd:

With this celebration, all the Kawiteños always have a chance to renew old acquaintances, acquire new friends and honor their patron saint, Saint Mary Magdalene. As we all say, although the Kawiteños are away from their native land, Saint Mary Magdalene is never forgotten and always stays in their heart, mind and soul.

According to the new Google tool, Google Trends, domestic searches for Mary Magdalene are most popular in Raleigh, NC. Globally, the most searches for Mary Magdalene material come from the Philippines:

http://www.google.com/trends?q=mary+magdalene

I never would have guessed.

Given the spread between the Philippines and the United States in Mary Magdalene Google searches, I have to wonder what’s going on there. I once met a nun from the Philippines who lived in an order under Mary Magdalene’s patronage, and there are some towns/villages that count her as a patron, but I never would have guessed that interest in her was so high there overall. (If Google statistics are any indication, that is.)

If anyone has any insight into why this might be the case, I’d love to hear any ideas.