St. Francis of Assisi went to the Holy Land, in 1220, to convert the Saracens or die trying. During his time there, he went to Nazareth and spent time at the Holy House, where the Annunciation took place, where the Holy Family lived from the time they returned from Egypt until Jesus began His public Ministry. Francis spent much time, praying there. We believe the Holy Family spoke to him in the little House; because when he came back to Italy, he went out on the road, preaching the Good News of the Kingdom.
One of the first places he went to was a little town of no accord, north of Assisi, off the Adriatic Sea, about thirty miles inland from Ancona. The town was called Loreto. Francis told his brothers to begin preaching there. They looked around and protested, saying the town was too small and the area too remote. Francis prophesied "Someday this place will be known as the holiest place on earth."
Seventy four years later, the Holy House of Nazareth arrived in Loreto. Had Mother Mary spoken to St. Francis about this move when he was in Nazareth, before the Crusaders had lost the battle, and had been expelled from the Holy Land? He knew something! Was this one of the many things our Holy Family shared with this, one of their favorite sons?
The Angels move the Holy House to Italy.
December 10th, 1294, in the area of Loreto, Italy (across the Adriatic Sea and southwest of Tersatto,) shepherds reported seeing a house in the sky, flying across the sea, supported by Angels. They reported, one of the Angels (Michael) wore a red cape, and seemed to be leading the others. They saw Our Lady and the Baby Jesus seated on top of the house. The Angels continued inland, about four miles, and landed with their precious house and its Royal Passengers into a wooded area called Banderuola.
The news spread, quickly drawing many people to pilgrimage to the House in Banderuola. But they were not all working on the same agenda. Robbers came to waylay, rob, and beat the pilgrims. The faithful stopped coming, and the house quickly fell into neglect.
The Angels, who had been put in charge of protecting the House, lifted it again and set it down on a small hill in the middle of a farm. The only problem was, this land was owned by two brothers, named Antici, who began fighting immediately over ownership of the house.
So the Angels moved the house, a third time, to another hill. This time they placed it down on the middle of a road, the site it occupies now, and has for the last 700 years. Tradition tells us that as soon as the house moved off the brothers' property, they became the best of friends. The Angels had moved the Holy House three times in one year.
The people of Recanati and Loreto didn't know exactly what they had there. One day they had a road, on which they rode their horses and carriages; the next day they had to go around the road, because there was a building in the way. They knew it was a church, and it had appeared miraculously. They knew about its movement, from place to place, the first year it was there. They'd heard reports of the multitudes of miracles taking place as a result of praying at the church. That was about as much as they knew. But in 1296, that was all to change. Two years after it had landed in Loreto, Our Lady appeared to a very holy man, Paul of the woods, a hermit. She explained the origin of the house...
Bob Lord Bob
and Penny Lord were born Catholics,
but walked away from their Church and
their Lord after their son's tragic death,
due to an overdose of drugs.
Through the intercession of Our
Lady, They came back to Jesus and
His Church, only now as Converts, on fire, thirsting to know more about this Church founded by Jesus.Through
Mother Angelica, and EWTN, what
began as a national outreach to 40,000,000 homes has grown into international evangelization to the
whole world through television, radio
and the printed word. Bob and Penny have hosted 10
television series for EWTN- shown on a rotating
basis 5-7 days a week and
have made over 200 programs in all to date. Authors - Well-known
throughout the world
They have written 25 books, two of
which have been translated into various languages. The
Ministry publishes a quarterly newspaper, the
Good Newsletter.
Disclaimer: All information on this site is provided for informational purposes only! By no means is any
information presented herein intended to substitute for the advice provided to you by any health care or other professional
or organization.
tweet this!