Our Lady of the Visitation

Marian dedication of Ein Karem (Judea)

La Visit of the Virgin Mary to her cousin St. Elizabeth in the "city of Judah" is an evangelical event narrated by Luke (Lk 1.39-56), a biblical foundation of this advocation and of the liturgical memory of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary en el rito Romano Latin.

Main data

Origin and history

La Visit of the Virgin Mary to her cousin St. Elizabeth in the "city of Judah" is an evangelical event narrated by Luke (Lk 1.39-56), a biblical foundation of this advocation and of the liturgical memory of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary en el rito Romano Latin.

According to the ancient Christian traditionthe place of this "city of Judah" is identified with the present A Karemin the hills west of Jerusalem, a town also venerated as the homeland of Saint John the Baptist (birth and house of Zechariah and Elizabeth). This identification is traditional and devotional; the biblical text does not mention the name of the population and does not allow for an archaeologically secure location.

La Church of the Visitation of Ein Karem It belongs to the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land and rises on the remains of previous times. Various studies point to Byzantine and cross-sectional phases, destroyed and rebuilt over the centuries; the present Neorromic-style shrine was designed by the architect Antonio Barluzzi and finished in the 20th century (consecrated in 1955), on the place that tradition points out as the house of Zechariah and Elizabeth where Mary pronounced the Magnificat. This is the historically documented part: the Franciscan presence, excavations, successive constructions and contemporary consecration of the temple.

The image and the sanctuary

In Ein Karem venerates the Virgin under the biblical advocation of Our Lady of the Visitation, more like Gospel mystery that as a single image universally canonized. Within the Church of the Visitation there is usually a pictorial or sculptural representation of the moment of the encounter between Mary and Elizabeth and the song of the Magnificat; however, does not contain a unique "crowned pattern" image with standardized specific iconography for this advocation, as is the case with other more well-known Marian shrines.

The sanctuary is usually called Church of Visitation (Ein Karem), entrusted to Custody of the Holy Land (Order of the Minor Friars). It is a Latin rite temple, of two levels (lower and higher church), with wide murals that evoke scenes of the Visitation and the Magnificat and an outer courtyard where the text of the Magníficat en diferentes lenguas, a sign of the universal dimension of this song and the Marian devotion that is lived there. It is not known that this church has the title of minor basilica nor is it declared a national sanctuary; it is considered a Marian and biblical sanctuary of international importancewithin the whole of the holy places of the Holy Land guarded by the Franciscan.

Sponsorship and coronation

La advocación de Our Lady of the Visitation is primarily linked to the biblical place of Ein Karem and to the memory of the Visitation; beyond its importance to the whole universal Church, no consta there is a specific declaration of civil patronage (city or nation) officially associated with this specific image of Ein Karem.

As for the canonical coronation of a concrete image of Our Lady of Visitation in the church of Ein Karem, does not contain a documented canonical coronation given by a Pontifical Decree or made on behalf of a Pope, according to the usual criteria for this type of liturgical recognition.

Party and devotion

En el Calendar Romano Generalthe party of the Visit of the Blessed Virgin Mary se celebra el 31 May (in the Latin Roman rite, following the reform of Paul VI's calendar), although in some particular calendars or in ancient tradition it was commemorated on July 2. This party commemorates precisely the episode that the shrine of Ein Karem celebrates and custody.

The Church of the Visitation is one of the regular pilgrimage destinations in the Holy Landintegrated into the biblical itineraries that include Nazareth, Bethlehem, Jerusalem and other places linked to the life of Christ and Mary. There are no official inflow figures specific to this sanctuary, but its condition is widely recognized. international pilgrimagevisited by pilgrims from many countries, parish groups, religious congregations and Marian movements. Among the devotional features, the recitation of the Magnificatthe meditation of the passage of Lc 1.39-56, processions or moments of Marian prayer, and the reading of the Magnificat in different languages in front of the panels of the atrium, as a sign of praise and thanksgiving to God together with Mary.

Link to the Rosary

La advocación de Our Lady of the Visitation is closely linked to the second joyous mystery del Rosario: The Visitation of Mary to her cousin Isabel. In the traditional prayer of the Rosary, this mystery invites you to contemplate the solicitous charity of Mary, her faith in the promise of God and the joy of the encounter that causes the song of the Magnificat, which is precisely the spiritual core of the shrine of Ein Karem.

For this reason, although does not contain a specific form of "own" Rosary of the shrine of Ein Karem, the relationship is direct and profound: by meditating on the second joyful mystery, the faithful are spiritually united to this place of the Holy Land, they see Mary "in a hurry" to serve and share the joy of salvation, and they make the Magnificat their own as a prayer of praise. The Rosary thus becomes a privileged way to accompany devotion to Our Lady of Visitation, integrating the memory of the Gospel passage, the sacred geography of Ein Karem and the life of faith of today's Church.