Feast of Our Lady of Loreto: Decree of the Congregation for divine worship and the discipline of the sacraments ·
October 31, 2019
The veneration for the Holy House of Loreto has been, since the Middle Ages, the origin of that peculiar sanctuary frequented, even today, by numerous faithful pilgrims to feed their faith in the Word of God made flesh for us.
That sanctuary recalls the mystery of the Incarnation and prompts all those who visit it to consider the fullness of time, when God sent his Son, born of a woman, and to meditate on both the words of the angel in the Gospel and the words of Virgin who answered the divine call. Overshadowed by the Holy Spirit, the humble servant of the Lord has become the house of divinity, the most pure image of the holy Church.
The aforementioned sanctuary, closely linked to the Apostolic See, praised by the Supreme Pontiffs and universally known, has been able to illustrate in an excellent way, over time, no less than Nazareth in the Holy Land, the evangelical virtues of the Holy Family.
In the Holy House, before the effigy of the Mother of the Redeemer and of the Church, Saints and Blesseds have responded to their vocation, the sick have called for consolation in suffering, the people of God has begun to praise and beg the Blessed Virgin Mary with the Litany of Loreto, known all over the world. In particular, those who travel by plane have found in her their heavenly patroness.
In light of all this, the Supreme Pontiff Francis decreed with his authority that the optional memory of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Loreto be entered in the Roman Calendar on December 10, the day on which there is a feast in Loreto, and celebrated every year. This celebration will help everyone, especially families, young people, religious, to imitate the virtues of the perfect disciple of the Gospel, the Virgin Mother who, conceiving the Head of the Church, also welcomed us with Him.