My visit to the "Holy House" of Loreto in 2020

During the summer of 2020, I had a chance to make a short pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Loreto, Italy, (1) during the Jubilee year of the "Holy House" of Mary in Loreto inaugurated on December 8, 2019, and extended until December 2021. While visiting that holy place where the mystery of the Incarnation took place, I witnessed something astonishing.

The Holy House is usually empty and quiet at lunchtime, so I decided to stay and pray for an hour by myself. After about 30 minutes of silence, I heard a commotion at the door. A young boy sitting in a wheelchair was about to be brought inside the Holy House. From a distance I could tell that he was nervous and agitated.

As he was wheeled through the door, the boy began to scream and fight like a madman. The screams and the strength he displayed were beyond his age. He seemed to be possessed: his parents had brought him there, with the help of several strong friends, and the exorcist priest was with them.

The exorcism lasted half an hour. At the end, the demon finally left that soul. The young man became calm and his face, earlier swollen with fury, took on a normal appearance.

I won’t go into details to describe this unsettling scene, but I will share this observation that struck me: As long as he was in the basilica, the possessed boy remained calm—his fury began exactly at the moment he entered the Holy House (2). The conclusion is self-evident, and I thank the Blessed Virgin for the material proofs she gives us to support our faith, which is often terribly weak.

(1) The Holy House of the Blessed Virgin in Nazareth was miraculously transported from Nazareth to Loreto in Italy in the 13th century.

(2) The basilica is built around the Holy House.

Story shared by Arnaud, a reader of A Moment with Mary, 2020