Basilica of the Annunciation

Nazareth on its hillside, seen from the east, c. 1890–1900.Photochrom, Library of Congress · no known restrictions on publication

In the Bible

God sent the angel Gabriel to a virgin named Mary in Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to tell her that she would conceive and bear a Son.

Luke 1:26–31In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin pledged in marriage to a man named Joseph, who was of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. The angel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. So the angel told her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus.

Tradition

Catholics venerate the grotto here as Mary's home and the place of the Annunciation; churches have stood over it since Byzantine times. The Orthodox remember the angel's first greeting at the spring.

Here today

A large basilica inaugurated in 1969 over the grotto and earlier churches; its walls carry images of Mary sent by Catholics from all over the world.

Through the eyes of old pilgrims

We went down a flight of fifteen steps below the ground level, and stood in a small chapel tricked out with tapestry hangings, silver lamps, and oil paintings. … So simple, so unpretending a locality, to be the scene of so mighty an event!Mark Twain, The Innocents Abroad, 1869

Nazareth is a small town in the hills, in a hollow … and a church is built over that holy cave in the name of the holy Annunciation. That holy place had once lain desolate, but now the Franks have renewed it and set it in good order.Abbot Daniel, 1106–1108 · our translation

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Land outlines: Natural Earth (public domain).