PilgrimstaysStanding tall over the Nazareth skyline in Israel is the Franciscan run Basilica of the Annunciation, built over the site traditionally believed to be the house of Mary. It is here that the Archangel Gabriel is said to have appeared to her and announced that she would bear a child, who was the son of God- an event referred to as the Annunciation. Completed in 1969, the present church was designed by the Italian architect Giovanni Muzio and built by the Chief Engineer Shlomo Lopatin. Sporting bold and audacious modernist features, the lantern topped dome of the Basilica of the Annunciation is a structure that is completely different from the traditional design found in most basilicas. The striking interiors match the exterior in spectacle and are a befitting tribute to the place which Mary called home. The Basilica is in two sections- the upper one with a soaring dome gives one a sense of great space. In true modernist style the bare concrete is covered with a pattern of dots, which gives the interiors a remarkable artistic appearance. The walls of the church and the courtyard are adorned with a series of depictions of Mary and the infant Jesus from over fifty countries, each one styled in the culture of that particular country. The Grotto of the Annunciation is in the dimly lit lower church, which is the traditional site of Mary’s house. There are remnants of structures from earlier eras, notably from the Byzantine and Crusader churches. The first church to be built here was commissioned by the Emperor Constantine, who had sent his mother St Helena to t he Holy Land to establish churches commemorating important events in the life of Jesus. The first Church of the Annunciation was built in the mid-fourth century and lasted till it its destruction, in the wake of the Muslim conquest of Palestine. When Nazareth was retaken by the Crusaders in 1102 AD, they built a new church on the ruins of the Byzantine one. The church was still not complete at the time of the capture of the city in 1187 AD, by Saladin, who however left it untouched. The Basilica of the Annunciation did not however survive the attack by the Mamluk Sultans of Egypt on Palestine and was destroyed by them in 1260. In the centuries that followed the Franciscans were in and out of Nazareth, depending on the political situation prevailing. They faced numerous hardships in the intervening years, including a massacre of some Franciscans in 1542. They did return in 1620 but could construct only a small structure that enclosed the Holy Grotto. Permission to build a new church came much later in 1730, when Dahir al-Umar, the ruler of Palestine under the Ottoman Empire, acceded to their request. This church was enlarged in 1877 and eventually demolished in 1954 to make way for the present structure.
Standing tall over the Nazareth skyline in Israel is the Franciscan run Basilica of the Annunciation, built over the site traditionally believed to be the house of Mary
Completed in 1969, the present church was designed by the Italian architect Giovanni Muzio and built by the Chief Engineer Shlomo Lopatin
The first church to be built here was commissioned by the Emperor Constantine, who had sent his mother St Helena to t he Holy Land to establish churches commemorating important events in the life of Jesus
The first Church of the Annunciation was built in the mid-fourth century and lasted till it its destruction, in the wake of the Muslim conquest of Palestine
When Nazareth was retaken by the Crusaders in 1102 AD, they built a new church on the ruins of the Byzantine one
The grotto preserved in the lower basilica is the heart of the entire site — a simple cave carved into the Galilean rock, with an altar marking the traditional spot where Gabriel stood and Mary said yes. The inscription on the altar reads Verbum caro hic factum est — The Word was made flesh here. Kneeling here, one is at the still point of Christian history.
The upper basilica is lined with large mosaic panels depicting the Madonna and Child, donated by Catholic communities from over 50 nations — Japan, Mexico, the United States, Poland, Nigeria, India, Australia, and many more — each in the artistic tradition of its country. The Japanese Madonna with almond eyes, the African Madonna with dark skin, the Mexican Madonna in indigenous dress — together they form the most globally comprehensive visual statement of Marian devotion in existence.
The upper basilica, designed by Giovanni Muzio, is a soaring modern Romanesque space centred on a large circular opening in the floor through which one looks down into the grotto below — physically connecting the worship space to the cave beneath. The architectural concept expresses the Incarnation: heaven and earth, the eternal and the historical, connected through a single aperture.
Nazareth's Old City surrounds the basilica with stone lanes, Arab Christian and Muslim shops, and the atmosphere of a Levantine market town. The Church of St Joseph (over the site of Joseph's carpentry workshop), the Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation, and the ancient souk are all within walking distance. Walking these lanes — the lanes where Jesus grew up — is part of the pilgrimage.
The large courtyard in front of the basilica offers a view of the modern Nazareth skyline with the ancient hills of the Galilee beyond. Standing here, one is in the hometown of Jesus of Nazareth — the most famous person in human history was born in Bethlehem but grew up here, in this city, in these hills, for the first 30 years of his life.
The grotto in the lower basilica contains an inscription: Verbum caro hic factum est. The Word was made flesh here. Hic — here. In this particular place, in this particular cave, in this particular town in the hills of Galilee. The Incarnation is not an abstraction — it happened in a specific location, in a specific moment, in a specific conversation between a teenage girl and an angel. The basilica was built to say: here. Don't let the size of the building obscure the smallness of what happened in the cave beneath it.
“I am the Lord's servant, Mary answered. May your word to me be fulfilled.”
Read in full on Bible Gateway →Standing tall over the Nazareth skyline in Israel is the Franciscan-run Basilica of the Annunciation, built over the site traditionally believed to be the house of Mary. It is here that the Archangel Gabriel is said to have appeared to her and announced that she would bear a child who was the son of God — an event referred to as the Annunciation.
Completed in 1969, the present church was designed by the Italian architect Giovanni Muzio and built by the Chief Engineer Shlomo Lopatin. Sporting bold and audacious modernist features, the lantern-topped dome of the Basilica of the Annunciation is a structure completely different from the traditional design found in most basilicas. The striking interiors match the exterior in spectacle and are a befitting tribute to the place which Mary called home.
The basilica is in two sections. The upper one, with a soaring dome, gives one a sense of great space. In true modernist style, the bare concrete is covered with a pattern of dots, which gives the interiors a remarkable artistic appearance. The walls of the church and the courtyard are adorned with a series of depictions of Mary and the infant Jesus from over fifty countries, each one styled in the culture of that particular country. The Grotto of the Annunciation is in the dimly lit lower church, which is the traditional site of Mary’s house.
There are remnants of structures from earlier eras, notably from the Byzantine and Crusader churches. The first church to be built here was commissioned by the Emperor Constantine, who had sent his mother St Helena to the Holy Land to establish churches commemorating important events in the life of Jesus. The first Church of the Annunciation was built in the mid-fourth century and lasted until its destruction in the wake of the Muslim conquest of Palestine.
When Nazareth was retaken by the Crusaders in 1102 AD, they built a new church on the ruins of the Byzantine one. The church was still not complete at the time of the capture of the city in 1187 AD by Saladin, who however left it untouched. The Basilica of the Annunciation did not survive the attack by the Mamluk Sultans of Egypt on Palestine and was destroyed by them in 1260.
In the centuries that followed, the Franciscans were in and out of Nazareth, depending on the political situation prevailing. They faced numerous hardships in the intervening years, including a massacre of some Franciscans in 1542. They did return in 1620 but could construct only a small structure that enclosed the Holy Grotto. Permission to build a new church came much later, in 1730, when Dahir al-Umar, the ruler of Palestine under the Ottoman Empire, acceded to their request. This church was enlarged in 1877 and eventually demolished in 1954 to make way for the present structure.
