The House of The Virgin Mary
Historical Places of Turkey - The House of The Virgin Mary / İzmir
The House of the Virgin Mary is a Christian shrine located in the vicinity of Ephesus, Turkey (7 km from Selçuk). It is believed by many Christians and Muslims that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was taken to this stone house by Saint John after the crucifixion of Jesus, and lived there until her assumption into Heaven according to Catholics and Orthodox.
Anne Catherine Emmerich, a German nun, claimed to have had a vision of the House of the Virgin Mary and described it in detail to the German writer Clemens Brentano who later published a book about it. In 1891 Paul, Superior of the Lazarists from Izmir read about her vision and found a little building which corresponded with Emmerich’s descriptions.
This place was officially declared a shrine of the Roman Catholic Church in 1896, and is visited by thousands of tourists every year since then. It maintains its holiness for the Muslims as well as for the Christian world. People believing in the godly qualities of the Virgin Mary come here and drink from the water believed to be sacred.
Pope Paul VI visited the shrine on July 26, 1967, and confirmed its authenticity. Pope John Paul II also visited the shrine, on November 30, 1979. A commemoration ceremony is held every year on August 15th.
