THE HOLY HOUSE
About
the year 330, Constantine's mother, St. Helena, built a church
around the house of the Blessed Mother in Nazareth to protect
it. The Venerable Bede and other saints have testified to the
existence of the Holy House in Nazareth. It was even visited
by St. Louis, King of France, in 1251.
When
the Moslems menaced the Holy Land in 1291, the Holy House suddenly
disappeared from Nazareth on the night of May 10 and was found at
Tersatto, Italy. To the surprise of the townspeople, a
building measuring 31-1/4 feet by 13-1/3 feet and 28 feet high was
seen on land that had been empty the day before. Its walls
were 16 inches thick, of a reddish-colored stone. It had a
wooden roof, one door on its northern side , one window on its
western side. Inside it were found earthenware vessels, a
stone altar, a wooden cross with the inscription, "Iesus
Nazarenus Rex Judaeorum," and a cedar statue of the Virgin Mary
with the Divine Child in her arms.
The
pastor of the nearby church was afraid it was a deception of the
devil; but as he prayed for enlightenment, the Blessed Mother
appeared to him and cured an illness he had had for many
years. The House remained at Tersatto for only three years and
disappeared again.
On
the night of December 10, 1294, the same date on which the Holy
House disappeared from Tersatto, shepherds near Recanati, Italy,
watched a house being borne over the sea and setting to earth four
miles away. It remained in Recarati for only a brief time,
moving that same year to its last and present location, in Loreto,
where it positioned itself partly on a road, partly on a
field. A holy hermit on a nearby mountain saw a vision of the
Blessed Virgin who identified the House and its origin. Along
the eastern seacoast of Italy, there is a centuries-old custom of
ringing bells and lighting bonfires on the night of December 10 to
commemorate the journey of the Holy House and to light the way taken
by the angels who bore it.
There
have been several investigations concerning the authenticity of the
Holy House. In 1296, a deputation of 16 competent and
respected men journeyed to the Holy Land to examine the place where
it had originally stood. Its measurements and features were
found to be identical with other one-room dwellings in
Nazareth. Another investigation took place between 1524 and
1534. The Pope, Clement VII sent 3 chamberlains to Tersatto to
examine the structure which the townspeople built to commemorate its
temporary sojourn there. Its measurements coincided with those
of the House of Loreto. The Papal investigators also went to
the Holy Land and found not only that the measurements of the Holy
House tallied exactly with the sport where it originally stood, but
also that its stone and mortar were not known locally in Loreto, but
were chemically identical with those of Nazareth.
An
archaeological examination was made in 1921-22 after a fire which
unfortunately destroyed the original statue of Our Lady
inside. According to the technical findings: "the
walls of the Holy House have no foundation at all. . .the quality of
construction. . .excellent quality mortar, indicates that they were
certainly made by able hands and it would be unrealistic to believe
that. . .the person who designed or supervised the work would have
ignored the nature of the soil to the point of neglecting the most
elementary rule in planting the building on dusty ground. . . It,
therefore, must have been transported." Architect F.
Mantucci continues: "It is surprising and extraordinary
that the Holy House, though it has no foundation and stands on loose
inform soil and is partially overburdened by the weight of the vault
constructed in place of the roof, has been preserved unaltered
without the slightest sign of yielding."
Due
to the great number of miracles worked in the Holy House, the
records that were first kept proved so laborious and time-consuming
that they were discontinued. Innumerable pilgrims have visited
it, among whom were more than 200 persons canonized, beatified or
declared venerable by the Church , including St. Alphonsus Liguori,
St. Ignatius Loyola, St. Francis de Sales and St. Therese of Lisieux.
The latter, deeply touched in her visit, wrote: "Jesus is
content to show us His home so as to make us love poverty and the
hidden life."
Popes
have continually honored the Holy House. Pope John XXIII
prayed in the sanctuary a week before opening the Second Vatican
Council. John Paul II did likewise in 1979 before his historic
trip to Ireland and America. Pius IX called the basilica the
foremost of all the shrines consecrated to the Mother of God.
While Pius XI commented: "As far as the authenticity of
the Holy House is concerned, there are many good reasons for
acknowledging it, but no valid reason for denying it."
Pilgrims
are met with this notice above the door: "Tremble all you
who enter here, because this is the holiest place on
earth."
(03-08-04) |