Chapter I
How Is the Holy House Made? The story of Loreto begins in Nazareth, where Mary Most Holy received the angelic salutation. In the Palestine of that time, the homes of humble people usually consisted of three walls leaning against a cave, which constituted a separate room. It is certainly not implausible that there could be other small premises and an external courtyard. However, the main room was the one leaning against the cave. This obviously also applies to the residence of the Holy Family of Nazareth, which, despite belonging to the royal lineage of David, was humble and austere (although not as miserable as certain pauperist Catholics would have us believe). Since the origins of Christianity, as is known, the cell where the Incarnation of the Word of God took place with the “Yes” of Our Lady was turned into a place of worship and pilgrimage. In practice, it has been venerated since Mary Most Holy was still on earth. Over time, efforts were made to render the environment more suitable to accommodate the huge influx of faithful. In fact, the chapel was gradually incorporated into a larger structure. From a synagogue church of the era of Emperor Constantine, it eventually became a basilica, first built by Byzantines, and later by Crusaders. During this period, devout pilgrims (but also thieves and members of the clergy engaging in simony) removed some stones or fragments from those sacred walls so their custodians had to make up for it by
