The Italian city of Loreto is home to one of the most important relics of Christianity: the Holy House of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the house wherein the Word became flesh!

Newsdesk (22/12/2022 9:20 PM, Gaudium Press) At the end of the 13th century, the news that the Holy Land was lost to Christians spread deep sadness among pious souls. Yet another piece of news, quiet and calm, brought joy: the holy house of Nazareth, where the Virgin had conceived the Word made flesh, had been carried by angels to Dalmatia, and from there, via Ancona, to Recanati, Loreto.

As dawn broke, some of the inhabitants were astonished to see the new building, located in a place where no house or even a hut had ever been seen. News of the miracle soon spread far and wide.

Mysteries surrounding the Holy House of Loreto

Where did that mysterious construction come from? The eastern design, the strange air of antiquity, the structure, all led to endless questions. And what was most disconcerting was how the house was supported, since it was perched on the bare earth, without any foundations. The stupor, therefore, was general.

Then the venerable figure of the pastor of the Church of St George, Bishop Alexander, a native of Modruzia, appeared. A long murmur filled the air, for the prelate was seriously ill and had no hope of cure. How, then, did he appear there?

Our Lady reveals the Holy House of Nazareth

That night, on his bed of sorrow, he had a burning desire to go and contemplate the miracle, of which he had heard rumours everywhere. Then Our Lady appeared to him, surrounded by innumerable angels, smiling wondrously, and said to him with a voice, whose sweetness, the good bishop felt, came all the way from the depths of her sacred heart

– Here I am, son, you have called me, I have come to give you an effective help and an explanation of the mystery that your heart desires to see revealed. Know, then, that the holy dwelling recently brought into your territory is the very house where I was born and received almost all my education.

It is where I received the news brought by the Archangel Gabriel, where I conceived by the work of the Holy Spirit the Divine Child. It was there, listen, that the Word became flesh! The apostles, after my death, consecrated this illustrious house for the high mysteries, competing for the honour of celebrating the august sacrifice there. The altar is the same one that the apostle Peter erected.

The crucifix that can be seen there was once placed by the apostles. The cedar statuette is my image, made by the evangelist Luke, who, carried away by the affection he had for me and, by being so attached, was able to express, by means of art, my features as perfectly as possible to a mortal.

“For God nothing is impossible”

And, so very sweet and surrounded by endless angels, she continued:

– This house, so beloved, so very beloved of Heaven, surrounded for so many centuries by the honours of Galilee, but today bereft of honours amidst the fading of the Faith, has passed from Nazareth to these shores.

And she affirmed, peremptorily:

– There is no doubt here: the author of this great event is God, for whom nothing is impossible.

The house of Nazareth is carried by the hands of angels to Loreto

And looking at him tenderly, as tender as tenderness itself could be, she concluded

– For the rest, in order that thou thyself mayest be witness and explainer of all that I have told thee, be cured. You, who have been ill for a long time, suddenly appearing in complete health, will lead everyone to believe in this miracle.

And Mary, slowly ascending to heaven, always smiling and always enfolded by endless ages, disappeared from the sight of the good bishop ecstatic and cured. In the room remained a heavenly perfume unknown to earth.

Three and a half years after arriving at Tersatz, the house of Nazareth, carried by the hands of angels, rose again into the air and disappeared from the sight of the desolate people, settling in Loreto. (EPC)

Vida dos Santos [Life of the Saints], Father Rohrbacher, Volume XXI, pp. 168 to 175, 177 to 180

Compiled by Roberta MacEwan