Basilica della Santa Casa
Or Santa Casa di Loreto
1495 AD

Day 11 of 14. Monday, Oct 15, 2007
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The ferry crossed Adriatic Sea returning from Medjurogje arriving at the Ancona dock by 7AM. We headed south along the coast highway to Loreta, 20M south from the Ancona. We were not so sure to stop at the location since we were destined toward Lanciano 150M further south for the church allotted appointment before the country took the big lunch break during 1-3PM. The basilica was right off the main freeway turnoff several miles from the exit. The basilica was well known for the miraculous Black Madonna of Loreto, Basilica della Santa Casa. Inside of the basilica enclosed the Santa Casa chapel of Black Madonna, an ancient stone building inside of 28ft L x12 1/2ft W x 13 1/2ft H (8.5 m x 3.8m x4.1m).

We came inside the big basilica, the tour lead knew where and who to talk to for our Mass pre-arrangement. We were in a hurry for our time slot, and met a Franciscan monk at the info booth but no help. We finally went inside the Santa Casa chapel, only enough standing room for 50 plus of us, and 30min of Mass in standing posture. The interior was dimly lit, much less than the recorded images being posted here, as captured by dragging the camera shutter with wide opened lens. Behind the altar was known to be the original fire place of the Blessed Mother brought from Jerusalem by the angels to this location. As we finished the Mass, we went for a quick dash around church on our own touring; the next group of pilgrims went inside the chapel for their Mass schedule.

We exited to the courtyard outside for a short while for some time, we gathered our group to embark the bus, and headed south to Lanciano, 120M, under pressed time to arrive at the location before the 1PM afternoon break.


+__________________The History of Black Madonnas___________________+

Many miraculous Madonnas of the world are black. Many such Black Virgins exist, often having survived centuries of war, some in large basilicas, others in village churches, yet others in museums and libraries. Many more are also in private hands, for a variety of reasons. Some of the most famous Black Virgin shrines are Chartes, Loreto, Zaragoza, Rocamadour, Montserrat, and Guadalupe. Early textual references describing images of Black Virgins are few, although Peter Comestor (12th c. biblical scholar of Troyes and Paris), St. Bernard of Clairvaux (an early leader of the medieval Knights Templar) and Nicephorus Callixtus (1256-1335).


+________________The Santa Casa_______________+

The main attraction of Loreto is, however, the Holy House itself (in Italian, the Santa Casa di Loreto), a well-known Catholic place of pilgrimage since at least the 14th century.

It is a plain stone building, 28ft L x12 1/2ft W x 13 1/2ft H; it has a door on the north side and a window on the west; and a niche contains a small black image of the Virgin and Child, in Lebanon cedar, and richly adorned with jewels. St Luke is purported to have been the sculptor; its workmanship suggests the latter half of the 15th century. Around the Santa Casa is a tall marble screen designed by Bramante and executed under Popes Leo X, Clement VII and Paul III, by Andrea Sansovino, Girolamo Lombardo, Bandinelli, Guglielmo della Porta and others.

The four sides represent the Annunciation, the Nativity, the Arrival of the Santa Casa at Loreto and the Nativity of the Virgin respectively.

The treasury contains a large variety of rich and curious votive offerings. The architectural design is finer than the details of the sculpture. The apse is decorated with 19th century German frescoes, which are somewhat out of place.

The Holy House of Loreto is alleged to be the house where Mary was born and raised, and where an angel told her she would be the mother of Jesus. The first historical mention of the ‘Santa Casa’ appears when Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine, learned of its existence and had a church built around the house in order to protect it. According to a 14th century legend, after the Holy Land came under the control of Islam in 1263, the Holy House was flown by angels to Dalmatia, modern Croatia in 1291, where a vision revealed it to be Mary’s house. Three years later, in 1294, it was again transported by angels to Recanati and finally, in 1295, to a laurel grove, the ‘Lauretanum,’ for which Loreto is named. The myth of the Holy House states that when the Holy House was lowered into place the nearby trees bowed down in respect.

Analysis of literary sources, however, indicates that the transport of the Santa Casa happened by sea and not through the assistance of angels. During the medieval period of Christian history it was common for monks and crusaders to be called ‘angels’ by the common people, this explaining the legend of ‘angels’ flying the house from the Holy Land to Loreto. Archaeological evidence and documents uncovered in 1962 suggest that the house may indeed derive from the region of Nazareth as its limestone and cedar construction materials are not available in the area of Loreto.

The Holy House itself is quite small, and its single room with a small altar contains a Black Madonna statue and a blue ceiling with golden stars. In 1469, a large Basilica was built over the Holy House. Having been remodeled and reconstructed numerous times over the ensuing centuries, the Basilica has a Renaissance exterior and a Gothic interior. In 1510 the Santa Casa was approved for pilgrimages, soon became extremely popular in Italy, and by the 16th century was receiving pilgrims from all over Europe. Surrounding the Holy House, and inside the Basilica, is a marble concourse which pilgrims use to circumambulate the shrine. The pilgrims will kneel to make their way around the shrine and the millions who have done this devotional act have worn two shallow troughs with their knees in the hard stone.

Bulls in favour of the shrine at Loreto were issued by Pope Sixtus IV in 1491 and by Julius II in 1507 , the last alluding to the translation of the house with some caution (ut pie creditur et fama est); other popes have been less complaisant, and like most miracles, the translation of the house is not a matter of faith for Catholics. In the late 17th century, however, Innocent XII appointed a missa cum officio proprio for the feast of the Translation of the Holy House, and as late as the 20th century, the feast was enjoined in the Spanish Breviary as a greater double (December 10).


The interior courtyard, which dates back to 1661, has long been an important religious centre for Christians. Indeed, its cloisters were built to consolidate the Catholic faith in Bohemia during the turmoil of the Reformation and Counter Reformation in the 16th and 17th centuries. The small Santa Casa chapel, a replica of the sacred house of Loreto which, according to legend was transported by angels from Nazareth to Italy in 1291 and finally to Loreta in 1294, stands at the centre of the courtyard, with the Church of the Nativity just behind.

Eventually, as the religious situation in Europe stabilized, the Loreto became an ever more important shrine, not only as a place of pilgrimage and penance, but as the scene of miraculous cures for a wide-range of medieval ills - including inoculation from the plague. Of course, by curing the ailments of all and sundry (for a set fee), the wealth of the church increased significantly, thus allowing construction to eventually begin on the Baroque style bell tower and the western façade.

Aside from the architecture, the most impressive aspect of a visit here is the Loreto Treasury's many chalices and liturgical artifacts, the pinnacle of which is the diamond monstrance - a silver gilt piece containing 6,222 of the precious stones.

Loretánské náměsti 7, Praha 1, Hradčany, Tel: +420 220 516 740, Tram 22, Open 9am-12.15pm and 1pm-4.30pm Tue-Sun.


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