The Magdalena

{{Character Template
 * Image                  = Magdalena.jpg
 * ImageText              =
 * RealName               = Patience
 * CurrentAlias           = Magdalena
 * Aliases                = Kristofferson
 * Identity               = Secret
 * Alignment              =
 * Affiliation            = Catholic Church
 * Relatives              =
 * BaseOfOperations       =
 * Publisher              = Top Cow Productions


 * Gender                 = Female
 * Height                 =
 * Weight                 =
 * Eyes                   = Blue
 * Hair                   = Brown
 * UnusualFeatures        =


 * Citizenship            = US Citizen
 * MaritalStatus          = Single
 * Occupation             = Spiritual Warrior
 * Education              =


 * Origin                 =
 * PlaceOfBirth           =
 * Creators               = David Wohl; Joe Benitez
 * First                  = The Darkness #15


 * HistoryText            =After the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ, Mary Magdalene, reputed to be his wife, gave birth to a daughter, Sarah. From this child is descended the holy lineage of the Magdalena, a royal bloodline that passes great power and great honor from mother to daughter. The Magdelena serves as the warrior and protector of the Catholic Church.  Since the Middle Ages, the Roman Catholic Church has been the Magdalena's employer. They raise her from childhood and train her until she is ready to take hold of her destiny. It is the Inquisition, a secretive and mystical but powerful council of cardinals, that oversees the Magdalena's activities and chooses her missions.

Benedetta Maria Ferro
Benedetta was a Magdalena who appeared in the Darkness one shot, Black Sails.

Sister Rosalia
When introduced Rosalia was 33 years old. Raped as a teenager, she gave birth to a daughter who is assumed to have been taken from her and brought up in a convent.

She was sent to investigate possible vampire killings in France. She found the vampires and discovered they were humans infected with a virus and saw they were not evil. She was killed by the soldiers of the Inquisition, the Garduna, for trying to prevent them from slaughtering the 'vampires'.

Magdalena: The Blood Divine mini series takes place prior to the events of Darkness: Spear of Destiny story arc. The story was by by Marcia Chen and Joe Benitez.

Sister Mariella
Mariella was the above mentioned daughter of Rosalia. She debuted in the first printed appearance of the Magdalena in The Darkness #15 - 18, and then appeared again in Magdalena/Angelus #1/2. Mariella must have been in her later teens/early twenties when called as the next Magdalena.

She was sent to kill the Darkness with the Spear of Destiny but unbeknown to her she was not yet fully trained. Even after the Sisters of the Order of Magdalene performed the ritual which gave her the ability to reveal a person's sins, she was still defeated by Jackie Estacado and left for dead.

Having recovered from her combat with Jackie, Mariella received word of where the Spear of Destiny was and set out to retrieve it. In the process Mariella encountered the Angelus and Appolonia Francetti, and was again left for dead.

It is not clear what has actually happened to Mariella. She was clearly stated to be alive following her appearance in Magdalena/Angelus #1/2 but was never seen again. Since a new Magdalena was called to replace her, Mariella presumably died on a mission not yet depicted.

Mariella was sent on these two very dangerous missions by Cardinal Innocent and then by an anonymous letter. The possibility was raised that someone within the Church, probably Cardinal Innocent, wanted an end to the Magdalena and her line because of their true origin.

Mariella appeared in The Darkness #15 - 18 by Malachy Coney and Joe Benitez. She re-appeared in the Magdalena / Angelus one-shot, by Marcia Chen and Brian Ching.

Patience
The third Magdalena seen was named Patience. There is no information yet on her exact lineage or her relation to her two immediate predecessors, and she appears too old to be a daughter of Mariella. Patience was in her novitiate but left her convent suddenly, forcing the Inquisition to send an agent, Kristof, to track her down when her time came to assume the mantle.

Kristof found her living on the streets of New York City with a newfound friend, a homeless girl called Rowan Barry. Kristof became Patience's mentor and gave her basic training in her new role. Patience was initially hesitant but gave in to her destiny when Rowan was abducted by agents of an evil force. The events of her first adventure in her new role led to a disagreement with Kristof and the Inquisition, prompting her to declare herself independent of their control but allied with them only when their goals did not conflict with her sense of ethics.

Patience was sighted again when Sara Pezzini, an officer of the New York City Police Department and wielder of the Witchblade, was attacked by a bloodthirsty demon, posing as a young woman. Sara found that this enigmatic Magdalena might prove a valuable ally against an unspeakable evil that roams the streets of New York City.

Patience appeared in Magdalena/Vampirella #1 by David Wohl and Joe Benitez, in Witchblade #62-65 by David Wohl and Francis Manapul and also in the new Magdalena mini-series by Brian Holguin and Eric Basaldua.


 * Powers                 = The Magdalena has the ability to see into the human heart, to show people the error of their ways and give them the choice to redeem their sins. There is only one in a generation, and she alone stands and takes arms against the evils of the world.
 * Abilities              = The Magdalena is trained from a young age in various forms of combat and to use varsious weapons.
 * Strength               =
 * Weaknesses             =


 * Equipment              = The Magdalena ustilizes a variety of Weapons in the course of her duties.
 * Transportation         =
 * Weapons                = The primary weapon of the Magdalena is the Spear of Destiny.  It is one of 13 artifacts in the Top Cow Universe.  It is also known as the Spear of Longinus, the weapon that pierced the side of Christ at the crucifixion.

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 * Notes                  =
 * Trivia                 = The character is expected to be adapted for a 2010 film, based upon Patience's origin story.
 * Wikipedia              =
 * Links                  = * The Convent