SAINTES-MARIES-DE-LA-MER

also called Les Saintes-maries, village of the Camargue, Bouches-du-Rhne dpartement, Provence-Alpes-Cte-d'Azur rgion, southern France. The village lies along the Mediterranean coast. Its name originates in the ancient Provenal tradition that the early Christian figures Mary, sister of the Virgin, and Mary, mother of St. James and St. John, together with their black servant, Sara, and others miraculously escaped persecution in Judaea about the year 40 and landed there in a frail craft. Their relics were put in a local oratory, which was replaced in the 12th century by the present pre-Romanesque fortified church. Pilgrimages take place annually in May and October. Gypsies from all over the world gather for the May pilgrimage to do honour to Sara, their patroness. Pop. (1982) 1,207.