Our Lady of Loreto is the title under which Mary is honored at Loreto in central Italy, where the Holy House of Nazareth, the home in which the Word was made flesh, has been venerated since the end of the thirteenth century. It is one of the oldest and most visited Marian shrines in the world, and it gave its name to the Litany of Loreto. Since 1920 Our Lady of Loreto has been the patroness of aviators and air travelers. Her feast is December 10, which in 2026 falls on a Thursday.
The Holy House of Loreto
Loreto is a small town a few miles south of Ancona, near the Adriatic coast. Inside its great basilica stands a small, plain room, about thirty-one feet by thirteen, its rough walls now encased in carved marble. Above the altar is the inscription Hic Verbum caro factum est, “Here the Word was made flesh.” Christians have venerated it for centuries as the house of the Holy Family at Nazareth, where Mary was greeted by the angel Gabriel.
According to the tradition summarized on a sixteenth-century inscription at the shrine, the house was carried by angels from Nazareth to Tersatto (Trsat, in present-day Croatia) in 1291, when the Crusaders were driven from the Holy Land, and three years later to a laurel wood near Recanati, the Lauretum that gave Loreto its name, where after several moves it settled on its present site.
What the Church says about the tradition
Many popes have honored the shrine: more than forty-seven, according to the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia, from Julius II in 1511 onward. The translation of the Holy House was entered in the Roman Martyrology in 1669, and a proper Office and Mass were granted in 1699. Saints such as Charles Borromeo, Francis de Sales, Ignatius of Loyola and Alphonsus Liguori made pilgrimages there, and the young Thérèse of Lisieux visited it on her way to Rome in 1887.
The same encyclopedia frankly reports that historical research had raised serious difficulties about the story of the angelic flight. In recent decades some scholars have proposed another explanation: documents from 1294 mention “holy stones” from the house of Our Lady given as a dowry by the Angeli family, rulers of Epirus, who may have brought the stones to Italy by ship, which would explain the tradition of the “angels.” Studies have also reported that the stones and the way they were laid correspond to building practice at Nazareth. Either way, the shrine remains a place where pilgrims meditate on the mystery of the Incarnation and the hidden life of the Holy Family.
Patroness of pilots and air travelers
Because of the tradition that the Holy House was carried through the air, Pope Benedict XV proclaimed Our Lady of Loreto the patroness of aviators in 1920. Pilots, flight crews and air travelers invoke her protection, and many air forces and airports have chapels in her honor. For the centenary, Pope Francis opened a Lauretan Jubilee year in 2019, and that same year he added her feast on December 10 to the General Roman Calendar as an optional memorial.
The Litany of Loreto
The Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary is called the Litany of Loreto because of its long use at the Holy House, where it was sung in the sixteenth century. Pope Sixtus V approved it in 1587, and it is the litany most Catholics know, with invocations such as “Mother most pure,” “Seat of wisdom” and “Queen of peace.” The full text is on our Litany of Loreto page.
A prayer to Our Lady of Loreto
Written for this page:
Our Lady of Loreto, in the humble house of Nazareth
you said yes to God, and the Word was made flesh within you.
Make our homes like yours, places of prayer, work and love.
Watch over pilots, flight crews and all who travel by air;
bring them safely to their destination and home again.
And lead us all at last to our Father’s house in heaven.
Our Lady of Loreto, pray for us. Amen.
For travelers on the road, see the Catholic travel prayer and the patron saints of travelers.
How the feast is kept
In the Marche region of Italy, on the night of December 9, families light bonfires, the fuochi della Venuta, to light the way of the Holy House, recalling the night of its arrival. At Loreto itself the basilica holds a vigil and a procession. Elsewhere, December 10 falls in the second week of Advent, a fitting day to pray the Litany of Loreto at home and to ask Mary’s protection for every family and every journey.
Frequently asked questions
When is the feast of Our Lady of Loreto?
December 10. It has been an optional memorial in the General Roman Calendar since 2019. In 2026 it falls on a Thursday.
Why is Our Lady of Loreto the patroness of pilots?
Because of the tradition that the Holy House of Nazareth was carried through the air to Loreto. Pope Benedict XV named her patroness of aviators in 1920.
Is the Holy House of Loreto really Mary’s house?
The Church has honored the shrine for more than seven centuries, but it has never defined the tradition as a matter of faith. Historians debate how the stones reached Italy; studies have found that they correspond to building materials used at Nazareth.
What is the Litany of Loreto?
The traditional litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary, named after the shrine where it was sung, and approved by Pope Sixtus V in 1587.
More Marian pages
- Our Lady of Good Counsel
- Litany of Loreto
- Marian feast days
- Immaculate Conception (December 8)
- Our Lady of Guadalupe (December 12)
- Annunciation
- Catholic travel prayer
Texts and sources
- Herbert Thurston, “Santa Casa di Loreto,” Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 13 (1912), Wikisource.