LORETO. - Diocese in the province of Macerata (Marche). It has an area of 17 sq km with 8,000 inhabitants, all Catholics. It has 4 parishes, with 2 diocesan priests and 56 regulars, a seminary, 6 male religious communities and 14 female (Ann. pont., 1951, pp. 390 and 641).
The fundum Laureti belonged to the diocese of Umana; when the episcopal see of Osimo was transferred to Recanati on 22 Dec. 1240, it became part of this diocese and followed its fortunes until 18 Nov. 1320, when John XXII erected the diocese of Macerata, in which L. was also included. It returned to the diocese of Recanati when this was re-established in 1357 and united with Macerata. Sixtus V in the Consistory of 5 Nov. 1585 proposed the erection of the diocese of L., which was then carried out on 17 March 1586 with the suppression of that of Recanati, taking territories from Ancona, Osimo and Fermo and assigning as its endowment the revenues of the diocese of Recanati and the properties of the Sanctuary; at the same time L. was made a city. On 18 Dec. 1591 the diocese of Recanati was re-established, but united aeque principaliter with L.
The Sacred Congregation Consistorial, by decree of 11 Oct. 1935 and with the approval of the Pope, established that the pontifical administrator of the Sanctuary should have jurisdiction over the territory of the city of L. and its territory according to the present civil boundaries, thus suspending the jurisdiction of the Ordinary of Recanati-Loreto. The administrator was to have as vicar general a prelate invested with episcopal character and to provide for the care of souls in the territory (AAS, 28 [1936], p. 71 ff.).
THE SANCTUARY
A first documented mention of an "ecclesia Sancte Marie que sita est in fundo Laureti" is found in a donation by Giordano, bishop of Umana, of 4 January 1194 (document reproduced by G. Garratt, Lorette le nouveau Nazareth, Lille 1893, p. 281 ff.); and in another document of 11 March 1285, concerning the diocese of Recanati, the fundum Laureti and the "ecclesia Sancte Marie de Laureto" reappear (J. A. Vogel, see bibl., II, p. 51; M. Leopardi, see bibl., p. 270). Everything suggests that it is this church which is at issue in the judicial sentence of Oct. 1315 by which Giacomo of Norcia, judge of the Marca d'Ancona, condemned certain nobles who, with a troop of horsemen and foot soldiers, in Aug.-Sept. 1313 and in Feb.-March 1314, had violently entered "ad ecclesiam Sancte Marie de Laureto, ad Recanatensem Ecclesiam domini episcopi mensam immediate spectantem", against the will of the chaplain and provost appointed by the bishop to collect the offerings and the money contained in the alms-box of the church itself, and had carried off all the oblations, the torches, the wax and silver images, stripped the image of the Virgin and Child, deprived the altar of its cloths, stealing the silver garlands with pearls and without pearls and every silk ornament "con non piccolo danno del vescovo e del vescovado" (M. Leopardi, p. 152; J. A. Vogel, I, p. 306; II, p. 68 ff.). A bull of John XXII of 24 Dec. 1320 speaks of the "ruralis ecclesia Sancte Marie de Laureto" of which a canon of Rimini had been despoiled "da alcuni tiranni di quelle parti ribelli della Chiesa romana" (M. U. Chevalier, see bibl., p. 485).
The church had already become a sanctuary and a centre of pilgrimages on the part of the inhabitants of the region, and gifts were offered in honour of the Virgin venerated there. Indeed, on 9 Nov. 1389 Boniface IX published a concession of Urban VI of 1387 in favour of the "ecclesia Sancte Marie de Laureto, Recanatensis diocesi quae... a christifidelibus illarum partium eius notitiam habentibus in magna veneratione habebatur": all the faithful who, for the Nativity of the Virgin, visited the church, gained the indulgence granted by Gregory XI to the church of St. Cyriacus of Ancona. It is the first pontifical concession, not however different from the others that were lavished in those years (J. A. Vogel, II, p. 119; M. U. Chevalier, p. 170 f.).
Popular devotion spread and grew ever greater: Flavio Biondo in his Italia illustrata around 1451 wrote "Fra Recanati ed il Mare Adriatico... sta in un villaggio aperto e indifeso la chiesa della Vergine Maria detta di L., celeberrima in tutta Italia; e che in quel luogo vengano esaudite da Dio, per intercessione della genitrice sua, le preghiere dei supplicanti, se ne ha prova grandissima e certissima nel fatto che il vescovo a gloria di Dio e della Vergine conserva appesi i donativi di coloro che sono stati esauditi in seguito ai loro voti, in oro, argento, cera, panni, vesti di lino e lana, di gran prezzo, sì da riempire quasi tutta la basilica". The testimony of the humanist historian, whose works were widely known, acquires special importance and is supported by other facts.
In 1429 Filippo Maria Visconti took an interest in the sanctuary of L.; Francesco Sforza sent a letter on 11 Jan. 1434 "in ecclesia Sancte Marie de Laureto"; in 1437 Niccolò III d'Este sent an offering to the Sanctuary. This was visited in passing by Pope Nicholas V in 1449, who then on 18 Apr. 1450 issued dispositions to the provost concerning the precious objects that were offered "ad ecclesiam Beate Marie de Laureto". Toward the end of his life Pius II visited L. (1464) while on his way to Ancona to fulfil a vow, and on 1 Nov. 1464 Paul II granted an indulgence to the Sanctuary "perché, come lo dimostra l'evidenza dei fatti, alla « ecclesia Sanctae Mariae de Laureto » in diocesi di Recanati, grazie ai grandi e stupendi e quasi infiniti miracoli che ivi si compiono per opera della stessa Alma Vergine e noi abbiamo provati evidentemente sulla nostra persona, v'è grandissimo concorso di cristiani dalle diverse parti del mondo". The Pope alludes to the healing from the plague obtained as cardinal a few months earlier. Paul II issued other bulls of indulgence on 12 Feb. 1470 and then on 25 Jan. 1471, in which he alludes to the Church "miraculose fundata" and says that in it "ipsius Virginis gloriose ymago angelico comitante coetu mira Dei clementia collocata est" and numerous and wondrous miracles took place. It is surprising that in these bulls there is mention of the image of the Virgin accompanied by Angels and not no mention is made of the translation of the House. It is known in fact that in the Sanctuary a wooden statue was venerated, 93 cm. in height, painted in blue and red with gold lines on the folds, and with the faces of the Virgin and Child blackened by time (G. Garratt, op. cit., p. 168 ff.).
The constant growth of the concourse of pilgrims and of devotion created around the Sanctuary a whole complex of activities. In 1412 Andrea d'Adria was « capellanus ecclesiae S. Mariae de Laureto »; in 1428, having contributed to the founding of a hospital, he took the title of « gubernator et administrator domorum et hospitalis almae et gloriosae Virginis Mariae de Laureto ». In 1441 there was a cemetery adjoining the church; indeed, in the Sanctuary itself bones of persons buried there were found (J.A.Vogel, I, p. 333). On 3 Dec. 1459 Niccolò Asti, bishop of Recanati and Macerata, made a donation for the maintenance of the provost and of the other priests and of all the other servants and inhabitants « in domibus predicte ecclesie » and for alms to the poor « qui veniunt ad dictam ecclesiam » (M. U. Chevalier, p. 196 ff.).
In this donation there is also named Pietro di Giorgio Tolomei, provost of S. Sinedeo at Teramo, « gubernator almae domus dicte ecclesie ». Tolomei, called the Teramano, had come to L. in 1430 and died there in 1473. Around 1472 he composed in Latin a brief narrative on the origins of the Sanctuary: « The Church of the Blessed Mary of L. was the chamber of the house of the Blessed Virgin Mary » and the Apostles and disciples « by common consent all resolved to make of the said chamber a church in honor and memory of the Blessed Virgin Mary and so it was done... and the blessed Luke the Evangelist with his own hands made there an image in the likeness of the Blessed Virgin Mary which remains there to this day ». After the Muslims occupied the country « the Angels of God took away the said church and carried it to the parts of Slavonia and placed it in a castle called Fiume (10 May 1291) where it was not honored as befitted the Blessed Virgin. Another time the angels took it and carried it over the sea to the parts of the territory of Recanati and placed it in a wood that belonged to a noblewoman of the city of Recanati named Loreta (10 Dec. 1294) and from that time that church took its name from the lady who was mistress of that wood, S. Maria di L. During the time in which the church was in that wood, because of the excessive concourse of people, very great robberies and countless evils were committed in it. Therefore by the hands of the Angels it was again taken and carried to the hill of two brothers and on the hill it was placed by the hand of the angels (10 Aug. 1295). Those brothers, because of the very great income and profit of money and of other things, fell into very great discords and disputes among themselves; and for this reason another time they took it from the place of that hill and carried it onto the common road and placed it there and established it where it now is (2 Dec. 1295) ». « And then all the people of Recanati went to see that Church which was above the ground without any foundation. Therefore the said people, considering so great a miracle and fearing that the said Church might collapse, had the Church surrounded with another thick wall and excellent foundation as is still clearly seen today. But no one knew whence this church had originally come » (the dates are not the Teramano's, but appear with 1525). Only in 1296 « the Blessed Virgin appeared in a dream to a holy man devoted to her and revealed it to him, and he divulged the fact to certain good men of the country who wished at once to come to the light of the matter and by agreement among themselves decided to establish the truth of the matter, namely that sixteen notable and good men should go together to the Holy Sepulchre... and to Nazareth to investigate, and they took with them the measurements of the church and found there the foundations of the church and ascertained that they matched it perfectly; and on a wall nearby it is written and carved that the said church was there and postea had departed » (G. Garratt, p. 273).
The account of the Teramano had wide diffusion and formed the foundation of the narratives that followed, such as that of friar Battista Spagnoli called the Mantuan in 1489 (G. Garratt, p. 275 ff.; for the date cf. Alfonso M. di Gesù, Gli oppositori..., v. bibl., p. 24) and of Girolamo Angelita, perpetual secretary of Recanati, around 1525. What is especially surprising is the transport of the Holy House within a few years to four different places, and of the wooden image from the East, where such simulacra are not used. Even the bells would have been transported together with the building.
Among the other confirmations and concessions of Sixtus IV it is found that he granted the Sanctuary parochial status on 2 May 1482 and that in 1484 he established that the gubernator should be appointed no longer by the bishop, but by the pope himself. In 1488 Card. Girolamo Basso della Rovere, bishop of Recanati and Macerata, entrusted the Sanctuary to the Carmelite friars of the Observance of Mantua, who however remained there only until 1497.
Finally in a long bull of 21 Oct. 1507, in which he reported the most important previous documents, Julius II repeated with Paul II that there was preserved « in predicta ecclesia de L. imago ipsius beate Marie Virginis », and not only that, but also « ut pie creditur et fama est », the very « camera seu thalamus » of the Madonna, summarizing what the Teramano had written on the subject; thus the account of the Translation entered a pontifical document, though without the Pope making a special investigation into what had been reported to him on the matter, as is evident from the prudent « pie creditur » (the very long bull in M. U. Chevalier, p. 257 ff.).
Leo X on 8 Dec. 1514 erected the Sanctuary into a collegiate church with 12 canons. On 1 Nov. 1554 fourteen Jesuits were introduced there as penitentiaries and two years later a college was founded for them. Gregory XIII likewise entrusted to the Jesuits the College, founded by him and later renewed by Urban VIII in 1627, for the education of young men coming from the other shore of the Adriatic.
To give better order to the affairs of the Sanctuary and to remove recurring quarrels and conflicts of jurisdiction, Innocent XII on 5 Aug. 1698 instituted in Rome the Congregation of Loreto with four cardinals under the presidency of the Secretary of State and with a governor or prefect (v. CONGREGAZIONI ROMANE SOPPRESSE). Finally on 8 May 1728 Benedict XIII granted the Sanctuary the honors of a minor basilica.
A first shock in its traditional life the Sanctuary had to undergo at the beginning of 1798, when the French troops of Berthier plundered what remained there, after Pius VI had removed the treasure to put it in safety. The statue of the Virgin was then sent to Paris as a museum object; Napoleon had it returned in 1801 on the occasion of the Concordat (cf. A. Eschbach, Un decret..., v. bibl., p. 71 ff.).
In 1860, the Marches having been occupied by the Piedmontese army and pontifical power having fallen, the new laws were applied to the Sanctuary as well; however, the very extensive possessions were not confiscated from the Sanctuary itself, passing instead under an autonomous administration of a lay character by a decree of 8 Nov. 1860, reorganized later by another decree of 22 Dec. 1861. With the Lateran Pacts and the Concordat the Sanctuary returned under the direct administration and government of the Holy See, and Pius XI by a brief of 6 Aug. 1936 granted to the pilgrims of L. the same indulgences accorded by Pius X on 17 Jan. 1905 to the pilgrims of Palestine and of Lourdes.
THE BUILDING
The Holy House is a small building, measuring 9.52 m in length internally, 4.10 m in width, and 4.30 m in height, without foundations. Originally it had a single door on the long northern side; in front of it, inside, the altar was set up. At the top of the western side there opens a small window, and above it an image of the Crucifix which was said to have been painted by St. Luke. The upper part of the wall was decorated with paintings, now much faded, representing the Virgin, St. Catherine, St. George, St. Anthony and, as was said, St. Louis the king; several layers of superimposed paintings can also be made out. Under Clement VII the building underwent alterations: the ancient door was closed and, for the convenience of visitors, the three doors now existing were opened; under Paul III the altar was removed and placed beside one of the sides shorter, with the wooden statue of the Virgin. The fire of 1921 consumed the altar and the statue, which was replaced with an exact reproduction, also in wood.
Only in 1468 did work begin on erecting the great church with three naves, which shelters the building of the Holy House beneath its great dome; its architect was Marino di Marco da Zara, and it was brought to completion in its essential parts in 1471. On 10 November 1531 the first stone was laid of the marvelous marble facing that surrounds the Holy House like a box, yet without being leaned against it; in this form the monument has come down to the present day. The church is 95 meters long, with three apses and 13 chapels; the octagonal dome was erected on eight pillars by Giuliano da Sangallo in 1498-1500; the facade was completed in 1570; numerous artists, including Bramante as well, contributed to the complex of the construction and to the modifications that were gradually made to it. The German air bombardment of 5-6 July 1944, which damaged especially the dome, necessitated serious restoration work, but did not affect the solidity of the building.
The square that stretches before the Basilica is bordered on two sides by the great Apostolic Palace designed by Bramante, while the bell tower was built through the work of Vanvitelli (1750-54). The fear of a possible assault by the Turks caused the monumental complex to be given that fortress-like appearance which it still retains. - See plate CVIII.
