The Virgin's house in which the Word took flesh at the salutation of the angel was, according to ancient tradition, transported to Loreto, Italy.
The Holy House of Loreto soon became the first shrine of international renown dedicated to the Virgin. It was for several centuries the true Marian center of Christendom.
Benedict XV, in his "Treaty of the Canonization of the Saints" , while declaring that it is not a dogma of the faith, accepts the reality of the transfer of the Virgin's habitation:
"All the monuments provide lasting proof: the continuing tradition, the testimony of the Roman pontiffs as well as the ongoing miracles confirm it."
Sixtus V, who put the final touch to the Basilica's façade, had these words engraved in gold:
"House of the Mother of God where the Verb was made flesh."
John Paul II calls to mind:
"In these time-worn stones, icons of the mystery of the Incarnation by which 'for us men and for our salvation' God, at the Annunciation, took flesh of the Virgin Mary and was made man as we profess in the Creed."
Mary's house was built in a grotto hollowed out of the rock, and near its opening a small area was surrounded by three walls; these walls form the Holy House in Loreto and are the object of veneration.
The humble habitation was mysteriously transported from the East to the West
Centuries later, on December 10, 1294, tradition has it that the Santa Casa was carried from Nazareth to Italy, on the territory of Recanati, near the harbor, in the forest of Loreto. The Holy House itself bears testimony to its origins. Let's follow in the footsteps of the faithful over the centuries in what is perhaps the most popular Italian pilgrimage.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, Loreto was one of the most famous places of pilgrimage, after Rome and Santiago of Compostella. However, the first mentions of it date from 1315; among the other possessions of the bishop, on the territory of Recanati, was a small country church dedicated to the Virgin Mary. People came to venerate the image of a Madonna and Child.
A small castle flanked by four towers made it possible to ward off potential attacks by sea pirates, and nothing could interrupt the fervor of the pilgrims. The venerated chapel eventually became roofed over, roads and bridges were built to provide access to it. The locals were very attached to it; small children were taught by their mothers to turn to the sanctuary each morning to salute the Holy House where Jesus spent his childhood.
With time, a machicolated parapet walk, fortifications, a campanile and a cupola came to complete the sacred architecture. From the outside the church took on the appearance of a fortified castle.
Popes have always honored Loreto
Among them were to name a few: Urban V, Urban VI (by instituting a plenary indulgence), Nicolas V and Pius II (by going to Anconia to bless the crusaders). In 1450, the impetus was given by Pope Paul II himself. At this time several artists were invited to make of Loreto the jewel case of the Holy House, which became covered with marble, under the direction of the architect Bramante.
Painters and sculptors such as Lorenzo Lotto and Lombardo, worked fervently to erect and decorate the church
Pope Julius II removed Loreto from the jurisdiction of the bishop of Recanati and placed it instead directly under that of the Holy See. The era of the Crusades being gone, Loreto became a place of devotion worthy to compensate for the holy places of Palestine; a first rate "European Marian Center" and a traditional stopping place for pilgrimages.
Let's try to picture the pilgrims making their journeys, often in very different manners according to their means: the nobles and wealthy ones by litter or coach in relay-posts, the poor on foot, often barefoot, the women and sick people carried on carts. The pilgrims walked in groups of at least thirty to avoid ambushes from brigands. One must imagine them trudging down the middle of the road, alternating songs, prayers, discussions and meditations, helped by the presence of shelters and wayside altars placed along the mains roads, their heads covered with large-rimmed hats, fitted with scrip and staff.
They found food and lodging in convents and, once in Loreto, they made their devotions confessions, communions, visits of the Holy House and the Treasure, where the donations to the Madonna were amassed. Hospitals and hospices opened their doors to the sick and those unable to leave.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, pilgrimages began losing their glories of old. In 1894, however, in honor of the 6th centenary of the devotion in Loreto, pilgrims arrived in crowds and several nations participated in the efforts to re-decorate the absidal chapels of the Basilica.
In this place of pilgrimage celebrities and saints came in great numbers: Catherine of Siena, Francis of Paula, Ignatius Loyola, Francis Xavier, Francis Borgia, Aloysius Gonzaga, Charles Borromeo, Benedict Joseph Labre, to name only a few, all came to visit the Holy House, one after the other… and so did the young Therese Martin ...
A place of healing and conversion:
When Christopher Columbus' ship was caught in a storm, he vowed to send a pilgrim to Santa Maria di Loreto,
"which is in the march of Anconia, land of the pope; it's the house where Our Lady did and still does many great miracles."
Leo X published a famous bulla, on account of the Holy House, in which he first exalted the glories of this incomparable sanctuary, then proclaimed the innumerable and continuous miracles which God, through Mary's intercession, performs in this church.
Pope Pius IX, in particular, found healing there: it is indeed to the Virgin of Loreto that the Church owes Pope Pius IX. According to his biographers, the young Count Jean-Marie Mastaï Ferretti had been consecrated to the Virgin from infancy:
"My parents," he told a French bishop one day, "used to travel each year to the Santa Casa and to take my brother and I along; and as soon as I heard we were going, I couldn't sleep anymore."
When he left high school, he chose a military profession in order to become a soldier and defend of the Holy See. But he was suddenly struck by severe epilepsy; his health was profoundly affected. His doctors declared themselves unable to battle against the disease and announced his imminent death.
Pope Pius VII loved Mastaï. He asked the young man if he had thought about the holiness of the religious state. Jean-Marie answered that yes, he had, especially since he had become ill with the disease that pleased the Lord to send him. However told the pope that he felt his current health prevented him to consider this state as well as the profession of arms.
The pope consoled him and assured him that he would recover if he accepted to give himself to the service of God. Encouraged by these words, the young count went to Loreto to implore his recovery in Mary's room, and made the vow, if he obtained that favor, to embrace the ecclesiastical state. The Holy Virgin answered his prayers; he was radically healed and returned to Rome to become a priest. He was twenty one years of age. Later, Pius IX was to acquit himself of his debt to the Virgin magnificently, by proclaiming to the entire world the dogma of her Immaculate Conception.
We can add the graces of conversion to the list of the graces of healing: here is a testimony from a Frenchman, Mr. Olier:
"Beside receiving healing for my eyes, I then received a strong desire to pray. This was the most striking occurence in my conversion. I was born to grace in that holy place; I was reborn to God through Mary, in the very place where she had given birth to Jesus Christ."
As for Saint Joseph of Cupertino's vision, he saw angels enter the house with their hands full of heavenly gifts. He then told his companion:
"Look and see the mercies of God which, like an abundant rain, flood the sanctuary! O this holy place ! O this blessed house !"
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