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 Basilica della Santa Casa, Loreto Photo by Mroselli From Wikimedia Commons Used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic license One of the fascinating stories in Christendom is that of the Santa Casa, or the Holy House. The Basilica della Santa Casa (or Basilica of the Holy House) in Loreto, Italy, is known for enshrining the house from Nazareth where the Blessed Virgin Mary is believed to have lived and where she received the word from the Angel Gabriel that she would be the mother of Jesus: The Annunciation. Ancient tradition holds that the house was twice moved by angels: first from Nazareth to Tersatto (present-day Trsat in Croatia), then across the Adriatic Sea to Ancona. Following three more moves, it arrived at its current site in Loreto. Here the Basilica was built around the Santa Casa for future devotion to the Blessed Virgin.  Marble Screen Around the Holy House Basilica della Santa Casa, Loreto Photo by Zorro2212 From Wikimedia Commons Used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license Vatican City has depicted the city of Loreto, the Holy House and its story, and Our Lady of Loreto on five occasions: 1938: Two of the stamps from the first Vatican Airmail issue depict the Holy House and the act of the angels moving the house: 
House of Our Lady of Loreto, Scott C4 and C8 (1938) 1947: Two stamps from the second Vatican Airmail issue again depict the moving of the Holy House by angels: 
House of Our Lady of Loreto, Scott C10 and C13 (1947) 1995: Four stamps and a souvenir sheet were issued to commemorate the seventh centenary of the building of the Shrine of the Holy House of Loreto: 
 
Sacristy of Saint Mark, Shrine of Loreto, Scott 973-977 (1995) 2005: One stamp was issued, as part of the annual travels of Pope John Paul II for 2004, remembering his visit to Loreto on September 5 (this turned out to be the last pilgrimage voyage of John Paul II's remarkable pontificate):  Travels of Pope John Paul II (Loreto), Scott 1311 (2005) 2010: The annual aerogramme honors the 90th anniversary of the naming of Our Lady of Loreto as the Patron of Air Travelers, so proclaimed by Pope Benedict XV in 1920:  Vatican City Aerogramme: 2010 During a visit to the Basilica della Santa Casa on March 25, 2019, celebrating the Feast of the Annunciation, Pope Francis stated during his address: "The words of the Angel Gabriel to Mary: 'Greetings, o favored one', resonate in a unique way in this Shrine, a privileged place for contemplating the mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God. Indeed, here are conserved the walls that, according to tradition, come from Nazareth, where the Holy Virgin pronounced her 'yes', becoming the mother of Jesus." REFERENCES: |
