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Our Lady of Loreto, ora pro nobis |
December 10th is the Feast of the Translation of the Blessed Mother's Holy House from Nazareth to Loreto, a hilltop town near Ancona in the central Italian region of the Marche. However, before arriving to Loreto the sacred dwelling first moved to Tersatto in Dalmatia (Croatia) in 1291, after the defeat of the Crusaders in the Holy Land. Appearing out of nowhere, many miracles have been attributed to the house, including the healing of the town's ailing Bishop. With the Moslem conquest of Albania in 1294 the house miraculously moved again, first to a wooded area near Recanati, then finally settling in Loreto. In the 15th century, the magnificent Basililca della Santa Casa was built around the Holy House, becoming one of the most popular and revered Marian shrines in the world.
Patroness of aviators, Our Lady of Loreto is also petitioned by new and potential homeowners. In celebration, I'm posting a Prayer to Our Lady of Loreto. The accompanying photo of The Translation of the Holy House of Loreto (ca. 1510) by Saturnino Gatti (L'Aquila 1463–1518) was taken at the Metropolitan Museum of art. Ave Maria!
Prayer to Our Lady of Loreto
Our Lady of Loreto, Our Glorious Mother, we confidently turn to you; receive our humble prayer. Humanity is troubled by great evils, which it wishes to overcome on its own, and is in need of peace, justice, truth and love, yet thinks it can find these divine realities away from your Son.
O Mother! You, who carried the Divine Savior in your immaculate womb and lived with Him in the Holy House that we venerate on the Loreto Hill, grant us the grace to seek Him and imitate His example, He who leads us to salvation.
