Today is the feast day of Our Lady of Loreto. Loreto is a pilgrimage destination in Italy where the Holy House of Nazareth can be found. It is the same Holy House which Our Lady asked Richelidis to replicate in our own Walsingham.
This holy aedicule of Loreto was part of Our Lady’s Home in Nazareth. Those of you who have been in Nazareth know that what is left of the original house is a cave. The aedicule was built against this cave, thus the reason for the Holy House of Loreto to have three sides only. It is believed that when the Holy Land was going to fall in the hands of the Infidels, the Christians dismantled this holy house brick by brick and took it to safety in Italy where it is highly venerated. You will see from this photograph the similarities between the Holy House of Loreto and the one in Walsingham with its West window and North and South doors.
Below is a picture of a missal used in Loreto which depicts how Christians tended to symbolise the feast celebrated today.