Our Lady of Loreto 

December 10^th

What it celebrates

The memorial of Our Lady of Loreto honors the Holy House of Nazareth – the small stone house where, according to centuries-old Catholic tradition, the Annunciation took place and where the Holy Family (Jesus, Mary, and Joseph) lived.

The tradition

• The house originally stood in Nazareth (modern-day Israel).
• In 1291, when the Crusaders were finally driven out of the Holy Land, angels miraculously carried the house through the air to protect it from destruction.
• It first landed in Tersatto (modern Croatia) in 1291, then moved to Recanati, and finally settled on 10 December 1294 in Loreto, Italy, on a hillside (hence “Lauretum” – laurel grove).
• The house has no foundations; it simply rests on the ground (still visible today underneath the grand basilica built over it).

Historical & scientific notes

• The walls are made of stones typical of 1st-century Galilee, not of the Marche region in Italy.
• 16th–20th-century archaeological studies and papal commissions (including recent ones) have supported the authenticity of the structure and the tradition.
• The translation of the Holy House was accepted by more than 50 popes and is documented in records going back to 1296.

Why 10 December

It marks the anniversary of the final arrival of the Holy House in Loreto on 10 December 1294.

Liturgical status 

• Added to the universal Roman Calendar by Pope Francis in 2019.
• Optional memorial for most of the Church, but obligatory in Italy and for the aviation community.

Special patronage

• In 1920, Pope Benedict XV declared Our Lady of Loreto the patroness of pilots, air crews, and all who travel by air.
• On 24 March 2020, Pope Francis extended this patronage to flight attendants and airline passengers as well.

How it’s celebrated 

• Special Mass with proper readings and preface.
• In the Basilica of Loreto: solemn ceremonies inside the Holy House.
• Pilots and air-force personnel often make pilgrimages or offer flowers and candles.

In short: 10 December is the feast of the Virgin Mary under the title Our Lady of Loreto, celebrating the miraculous flight of the very house where she said “Yes” to God and raised Jesus – now enshrined in Loreto, Italy, and protector of everyone who flies.

1210 Our Lady of Loreto 2p LETTER 20251126

PREVIEW

1210 Our Lady of Loreto 2p A4 20251126

PREVIEW

The Church celebrates the feast of Our Lady of Loreto on 10^th December. Loreto refers to the Holy House of Loreto, in the house in which Mary was born, and where the angel Gabriel appeared to her at the Annunciation. According to tradition, a band of angels stopped up the house from the Holy Land, transporting it first to Tersato, Dalmatia in 1291, Recanati, Italy, in 1294, and finally to Loreto, Italy, where it has remained for centuries. It is this flight that has made Our Lady of Loreto the patron of people involved in aviation. The long life of the house led to her patronage of builders and construction workers. Our Lady of Loreto is the first shrine of international renown dedicated to Mary. Popes especially have always had a special connection to the Shrine of Loreto, and it is under their direct authority and protection.

Prayer to Our Lady of Loreto for Flying

O Holy Mother of God, our Lady of Loreto, patroness of aviation and air travelers. We come to thank you for all the graces and benefits bestowed on us. Full of trust in your powerful intercession, we fly to you, begging for your maternal solicitude and care. Listen to our supplications for the success of this flight and all the flights we may undertake. Do bless the pilots, the flight attendants, the technicians, and all of us, passengers, placed under their care. As we piously believe that your house in Nazareth was borne by angels to Loreto, so may you also bring us all safely to our destination here on earth and to our final home in heaven. Amen.

The Novena to Our Lady of Loreto

Our Lady of Loreto, I implore your Holy Name, in union with your Holy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ and your Holy husband St. Joseph, to help me find a home. May I enjoy the peace and happiness that was found in your Holy House of Loreto, where you lived happily, by the grace and blessing that the Holy Father granted you. Our Lady of Loreto, I implore you, to help me. I promise to consecrate my future home to you. Holy Mother of Loreto grant us health, peace and happiness and help us in our lives. Just like your house was Holy and blessed by God, I ask that my future house be blessed and protected by you and by God. If you help me Holy Virgin and grant me my request (mention your intentions here) I promise to make you known to all my friends. Our Father… Hail Mary…. Glory to be…

Act of Consecration to Our Lady of Loreto

O Immaculate Virgin Mary, we come to thee with confidence: welcome this day our humble prayer and our act of consecration. O Mother, thou didst carry thy Divine Saviour in thy most Pure Womb: receive our homage of faith and filial love as we come in spirit into thy Holy House. It is, by the Presence of the Holy Family, the holy home par excellence. And it is our wish that every Christian family be inspired by it. From Jesus, all children learn to obey and to work. From thee, O Mary, all women learn humility and the spirit of sacrifice. From Joseph, who didst live for Jesus and for thee, all men learn to believe in God, to live in the family and in society with fidelity and honesty. O Mary, we pray for our Pope and for the Universal Church, for our country and for all the nations of the world, for the suffering souls, for all sinners. And we all wish to consecrate ourselves to thee. Spiritually Present in the Holy House, where thou didst Conceive by the Holy Spirit, we want to repeat with lively faith the words of the Archangel Gabriel: “Hail, Full of Grace, the Lord is with thee!” We want to invoke thee still, saying: “Hail Mary, Mother of Jesus and Mother of the Church!” We turn to thee O Mary. Receive our consecration to thine Immaculate Heart. Totally thine, we wish to confirm by this act of love our unlimited love for Jesus, thy Son, and our hope in thee, our Mother. And thou, O Queen and Mother of Mercy, grant to thy children an abundance of Heavenly Blessings. Amen.

Prayer To Our Lady Of Loreto

O glorious Virgin Mary of Loreto, we confidently come to thee: Accept our humble prayer. Humanity is threatened by serious evils from which we would like to free ourselves, but on our own initiative. We need peace, justice, truth, love, and we delude ourselves that we can find these divine realities far from thy Son. O Mother, who carried the divine Savior in thy most pure bosom and lived with Him in the Holy House that we venerate on this hill in Loreto, obtain for us the grace to seek Him and to imitate His examples that lead to salvation. With faith and filial love, we spiritually travel to thy blessed House. Thanks to the presence of thy Family, this is the Holy House par excellence that must inspire all Christian families. From Jesus, every child learns obedience and hard work; from thee, O Mary, every woman learns humility and the spirit of sacrifice; from Joseph, who lived for thee and Jesus, every man learns to believe in God and to live in family and society with fidelity and rectitude. Many families, O Mary, are not a sanctuary where God is loved and served; That is why we beseech thee to obtain for us the grace that our family may imitate thine by recognizing and loving thy Divine Son above all things and every single day. Just as after many years of prayer and work, He came out of this Holy House to make heard His Word, which is the Light and the Life, so also may all men hear the echo of His almighty word, which illuminates and converts, and which still reverberates on the holy walls that speak to us of faith and charity. To thee, O Mary, we pray for the Pope, the universal church, Italy and all the peoples of the earth, ecclesial and civil institutions, sinners and all those who suffer, so that all may become disciples of God. O Mary, on this day of grace, spiritually united with thy devotees to venerate the Holy House where thou were overshadowed by the Holy Spirit, with living faith we repeat to thee the words of the Archangel Gabriel: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee! Once again, we pray Hail Mary, Mother of Jesus and Mother of the Church, Refuge of Sinners, Consoler of the Afflicted, Help of Christians. Among trials and frequent temptations, in danger of losing our souls, we look to thee and repeat Hail, Gate of Heaven, Hail, Star of the Sea! May our plea, O Mary, rise to thee and express, O Mother, our desires, our love for Jesus, and our hope in thee. May our prayer return to earth with an abundance of heavenly graces. Amen.

The Litany Of Loreto    

Lord have mercy

Christ have mercy.

Lord have mercy on us. Christ hear us.

Christ graciously hear us.

God, the Father of heaven,

Have mercy on us.

God the Son, Redeemer of the world,

Have mercy on us.

God the Holy Spirit,

Have mercy on us.

Holy Trinity, one God,

Have mercy on us.

Holy Mary,

Pray for us.

Holy Mother of God,

Pray for us.

Holy Virgin of virgins,

Pray for us.

Mother of Christ,

Pray for us.

Mother of the Church,

Pray for us.

Mother of Mercy,

Pray for us.

Mother of Divine Grace,

Pray for us.

Mother of Hope,

Pray for us.

Mother most pure,

Pray for us.

Mother most chaste,

Pray for us.

Mother inviolate,

Pray for us.

Mother undefiled,

Pray for us.

Mother most amiable,

Pray for us.

Mother admirable,

Pray for us.

Mother of good counsel,

Pray for us.

Mother of our Creator,

Pray for us.

Mother of our Savior,

Pray for us.

Virgin most prudent,

Pray for us.

Virgin most venerable,

Pray for us.

Virgin most renowned,

Pray for us.

Virgin most powerful,

Pray for us.

Virgin most merciful,

Pray for us.

Virgin most faithful,

Pray for us.

Mirror of justice,

Pray for us.

Seat of wisdom,

Pray for us.

Cause of our joy,

Pray for us.

Spiritual vessel,

Pray for us.

Vessel of honour,

Pray for us.

Singular vessel of devotion,

Pray for us.

Mystical rose,

Pray for us.

Tower of David,

Pray for us.

Tower of ivory,

Pray for us.

House of gold,

Pray for us.

Ark of the covenant,

Pray for us.

Gate of heaven,

Pray for us.

Morning star,

Pray for us.

Health of the sick,

Pray for us.

Refuge of sinners,

Pray for us.

Solace of migrants,

Pray for us.

Comfort of the afflicted,

Pray for us.

Help of Christians,

Pray for us.

Queen of Angels,

Pray for us.

Queen of Patriarchs,

Pray for us.

Queen of Prophets,

Pray for us.

Queen of Apostles,

Pray for us.

Queen of Martyrs,

Pray for us.

Queen of Confessors,

Pray for us.

Queen of Virgins,

Pray for us.

Queen of all Saints,

Pray for us.

Queen conceived without original sin,

Pray for us.

Queen assumed into Heaven,

Pray for us.

Queen of the most Holy Rosary,

Pray for us.

Queen of families,

Pray for us.

Queen of peace.

Pray for us.

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world

Spare us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world,

Graciously hear us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world,

Have mercy on us.

Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.

That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray

Grant, we beseech thee, O Lord God, that we, your servants, may enjoy perpetual health of mind and body; and by the glorious intercession of the Blessed Mary, ever Virgin, may be delivered from present sorrow, and obtain eternal joy. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.