The Catholic Church commemorates her as a patron saint of penitents. She is exclusively known through the hagiographical account of her life, a narrative in Greek written by Sophronius of Jerusalem in the 7th century. Her existence is uncertain and has been questioned by some historians. Mary of Egypt, also known as Maria Aegyptiaca, was born somewhere in the Province of Egypt , and at the age of twelve ran away from her parents to the city of Alexandria. There, she lived an extremely dissolute life.
After seventeen years of this lifestyle, she traveled to Jerusalem for the Great Feasts of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.
She undertook the journey as a sort of "anti- pilgrimage ", stating that she hoped to find in the pilgrim crowds at Jerusalem even more partners to sate her lust. She paid for her passage by offering sexual favors to other pilgrims , and she briefly continued her habitual lifestyle in Jerusalem. Her Vita relates that when she tried to enter the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for the celebrations, she was barred by an unseen force.
Realizing this was because of her impurity, she was struck with remorse, and upon seeing an icon of the Theotokos the Virgin Mary outside the church, she prayed for forgiveness and promised to give up the world i. She attempted again to enter the church, and this time was able to go in.
After venerating the relic of the True Cross , she returned to the icon to give thanks, and heard a voice telling her, "If you cross the Jordan, you will find glorious rest. The next morning, she crossed the Jordan eastwards and retired to the desert to live the rest of her life as a hermit in penitence.
