December 10th was the feast day of the Holy House of Loreto, my very favorite shrine in Italy that I’ve visited several times, and this seems like the perfect season to tell a special story about Mary’s house, the house in which she grew up.

I will tell you that, according to tradition, this Marian shrine is the home in which Mary lived, in which the Angel Gabriel appeared to her, announcing she would become the Mother of God, and the home she shared with Jesus and Joseph. It was transported to this Italian hill town overlooking the Adriatic on the night of December 10, 1294.

Tune in and you will learn exactly how it was transported to Italy!

As I prepared this Special, I felt myself leaning against the stone walls of this holy house – as I’ve done on every visit – praying to Mary, running my hands over the stones as I imagined she and Jesus and Joseph did countless times! Rarely have I been so induced to pray, so recollected in prayer, so sensing the presence of the Holy Family as I have in this holy home!

I hope you sense the awesomeness of this home as I tell its story!