Marian Shrines in the Holy Land

Jerusalem

1.      Tomb of the Virgin Mary also referred to as the Church of the Assumption.

The final reputed resting place of the Blessed Virgin.

Address:  Kidron Valley

               Jerusalem, 91193 Israel

Telephone:  (972) (02)6282936 or (972) (02) 6280271

When dialing from outside Israel:  The first three numbers are an international code, the next number is the code for Israel and the last seven are the phone numbers to reach the place.

Open:  5:00 A.M. – Noon, 2:00P.M. - 5:00 P.M. (A small donation is expected.)

Custodians: The Greek Orthodox Church

No Souvenir Shop.  No Restrooms.

2.      Church of St. Mary Magdalene

Russian Orthodox Church

Kidron Valley

The access to the church is directly behind the Church of the Agony.

Telephone: (02) 6284371

Open:  10:00A.M.-11:30 A.M. Tuesdays and Thursdays only, ring the bell

Custodians:   The White Nuns of the Russian Orthodox Church

No Souvenir Shop.  No Restrooms.

3.      Church of St. Anne also known as the Crusader Church of St. Anne

Built in 1140 A.D. over the reputed site of the home of St. Joachim and St. Anne, the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This site is about sixty yards inside St. Stephen’s Gate (also known as the Lion’s Gate)

Telephone: (02) 6283285

Open:  Summer: 8:00A.M.-noon, 2:00P.M. – 6:00P.M.

Winter: 8:00A.M. -noon, 2:00P.M.-5:00P.M., closed on Sundays

            Custodians: The French White Fathers (A Greek Catholic Community)

            Souvenir Shop: post cards and a guidebook. Restrooms, yes.

4.      Garden Tomb   

This site lies to the right of the Nablus Road, 250 yards due north of the Damascus Gate.

            Telephone: (02) 6272745

Open: 8:30 A.M. - noon, 2:00-5:30P.M., closed Sundays except for a service at 9:00P.M.

Custodians:  The Garden Tomb Association

Telephone: (02)  6272745

            Souvenir Shop, yes.   Restrooms  available.

5.      Church of St. Mark

Claimed to be on the site of the house of Mary, the mother of John Mark, the author of the second gospel. Inside on a stone discovered in1940, but dating from the 500’s is the inscription: This is the house of Mary, Mother of John, called Mark . This is a Syrian (Jacobite) Church

       Address: Jerusalem (Old City) Israel

             Open: 8:00 A.M.-5:00 P.M. (closed Sundays); winter: closes 4:00 P.M.

             Telephone: (02) 6283304

             Custodians: Syrian Orthodox Church

             No Souvenir Shop.  No Restrooms.

6.      Dormition Abbey

The site of the “falling asleep” of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

It is located in the Old Neighborhood, Old City, Jerusalem, in the southwest corner.   The Church is within the compound of the Dormition Abbey.

Hours: 8:00A.M.-noon, 12:30 P.M.-6:00P.M.  Monday- Saturday

           9:30A.M.-noon, 12:30 P.M.-6:00 P.M. Sunday; Roman Catholic Mass

Telephone: (927) (02) 6719927

            Custodians: Benedictine:  specifically, The German Society for the Holy Land.The Abbey is entrusted to an international community of German speaking Benedictine monks.)

            Souvenir Shop, yes.  Restrooms available.

7.       Upper Room

This room is known as the place of the Last Supper and the descent of the Holy Spirit after the Resurrection.

The Upper Room is situated roughly between the Cathedral of St.James in the Armenian Quarter in the southwest corner of the Old City and the rebuilt Jewish Quarter of the Temple Area.

Open: 8:30 A.M. - 5:00 P.M., closed Friday afternoon.

No telephone is listed.

Custodians:  The German Speaking Society for the Holy Land

            No Souvenir Shop.  No Restrooms.

Bethlehem  Place of the Nativity, Bethlehem, about five miles north of Jerusalem
 

8.      Church of the Nativity
This church is built upon the traditional site of the birth of Jesus. The church was built in the sixth century by the Emperor Justinian upon the ruins of the church built by the Emperor Constantine. The church is owned jointly by the Greek Orthodox and Armenian Churches.

Open 5:30 A.M.-6:30 P.M. daily; winter closes 5:00 P.M.

Telephone: (02) 741020

            Custodians: The Armenians and the Greek Orthodox

            No Souvenir Shop.  No Restrooms.

9.      Cave of St. Jerome

This cave is important because it is beneath the Church of the Nativity, so is directly connected to the place of Jesus’ birth. St. Jerome at this site, translated the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures into Latin, the Vulgate.

Open Times are the same as the Church of the Nativity.

Telephone: (02) 741020

Custodians:  (The Church of the Nativity:  The Armenian and the Greek Orthodox Churches)

No Souvenir Shop.  No Restrooms.

10.  Milk Grotto, the Church
This church is on the site of a sixth century legend that when the Blessed Virgin Mary was suckling the Infant Jesus, a drop of her milk fell to the ground, and the rock immediately turned white.

Open: 8:00 A.M.-11:45A.M., 2:00 P.M.-6:00P.M. daily; Winter closes at 5:00 P.M.; ring the bell
Telephone: (02) 743867
Custodians: Franciscans

      Souvenir shop, none.  Restrooms, none.           

11.  Shepherds Fields

Located in the Franciscan compound, about a mile and a half from the town of Bethlehem. This site is mentioned in the Gospel of Luke 2:8-20:  “While the angels in the sky, Sung praise   above the silent field,  To shepherds poor the Lord most high, The one great Shepherd was revealed.”

            Chapel of the Angel

            Open:  8:00-noon, 2:00 P.M. -6:00 P.M. daily (winter closes at 5:30 P.M.)

            Telephone: (02) 6472413

            Custodians: The Franciscans

            Souvenir Shop, none.  Restrooms, yes.

Ein Kerem (Ein Kerem is the traditional home of Zachariah and his wife, Elizabeth, Mary’s cousin.)
 

12.  Church of the Visitation

     The Virgin Mary visited her cousin St. Elizabeth here.  The place was the birthplace and home of

     St. John the Baptist.

           Open: 8:00A.M.-11:45 A.M., 2:30-6:00 P.M. Winter closes at 5:00P.m.; closed on Saturdays.

           Telephone: (02) 6417291

           Custodians: The Franciscans

           Souvenir shop, yes.  Restrooms, yes.

Cana (Arab village of Kafr Kanna) about six miles from Nazareth
 

13. Franciscan Church of the Wedding Feast

            Open: 8:00 A.M.-noon, 2:00 P.M.-6:00P.M. daily (winter, closes at 5:00P.M.)

            Souvenir Shop: yes

            Restrooms: none          

            Custodians: The Franciscans

            Telephone: (06) 6517011

14.  Greek Orthodox Church of the Wedding Feast

            Open: 8:30 A.M. - 6:30 P.M.

            Custodians: Greek Orthodox Church

            No other information available.

Nazareth
 

15.   Basilica of the Annunciation

             This basilica is located over the reported site over the home of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  It is where the angel Gabriel visited Mary.

             Open: 8:00 A.M.-11:45 A.M., 2:00P.M.-6:00P.M., winter closes daily at 5:00P.m.

             Telephone: (06) 6572501

             Custodians: The Franciscans

             Souvenir Shop, none.   Restrooms, yes. 

                 
16.   St. Joseph’s Church

Across from the Basilica of the Annunciation, this church is also known as the Church of the Carpenter’s Shop.

                Open: 8:00A.M.-11:45A.M., 2:00P.M.-6:00P.M., winter closes at 5:00P.M.

                 Telephone:  (06) 6572501

                 Custodians:  The Franciscans

                 Souvenir Shop, none.  Restrooms, yes.                    

17.    Church of St. Gabriel (also known as the Church of Mary’s Well)

            Located near the Basilica of the Annunciation, near the Franciscan Monastery Compound.

            The well is authentic and was used by the villagers 2000 years ago.

            Telephone: (06) 6576437

Open:  8:00 A.M. - 5:00P.m., Sundays noon-2:00 P.M. only.            

            Custodians:  The Greek Orthodox Church

            Souvenir Shop, none listed.  Restrooms, none listed.

Source: 

Wareham, Norman and Gill, Jill. Shrines of the Holy Land.  Liguori, Press, Liguori, Missouri, USA, 1998.