There is no evidence in the bible or church history to suggest that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute or the wife of Jesus. [1] The Catholic Church formally rejected this characterization of Mary in 1969, yet this tarnished picture continues to be perpetuated through books and films like Jesus Christ Superstar (1973), The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), The Passion of the Christ (2004), The Da Vinci Code (2006) and most recently, Risen (2016), a new Columbia Pictures film starring Joseph Fiennes. [2] Since Mary is not around to defend herself, I’d like to set the record straight.