Is This The ACTUAL Home Where Our Lady & Saint John Lived?

Amongst the Apostles, Saint John’s relationship with Christ was unique. Known as the “Beloved Apostle”, it was Saint John who rested his head on Christ’s chest at the Last Supper. It was Saint John who alone remained with Christ to the foot of the Cross when all the other Apostles fled. And it was to Saint John that our Lord entrusted the care of his mother after His crucifixion.

According to tradition, after the Resurrection and Ascension, Saint John did indeed take Our Lady into his own home, eventually living in Ephesus, in modern day Turkey.

In the 19th century, what is held to be the actual home that Mary and Saint John lived in was identified in a vision of Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich. Catholic pilgrims subsequently began visiting the house based, and it became a site of pilgrimage for those with a devotion to Our Lady and Saint John.

While the Catholic Church has never pronounced in favour or against the authenticity of the house, it nevertheless maintains a steady flow of pilgrimage since its discovery. The shrine has merited several papal Apostolic Blessings and visits from several popes, the earliest pilgrimage coming from Pope Leo XIII in 1896, and the most recent in 2006 by Pope Benedict XVI.

The shrine itself is not extensively large, but may rather be described as a modest chapel. The preserved stones and construction date back to the Apostolic Age, consistent with other preserved buildings from that time, but with minor additions such as garden landscapes and devotional additions outside the shrine. Upon entrance to the chapel, a pilgrim is met by one large room where an altar along with a large statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary is prominently displayed in the center.

On the right side, a smaller room lies----traditionally associated with the actual room where the Virgin Mary is believed to have slept. Marian tradition holds that some form of running water used to flow like a canal in the smaller room where the Virgin Mary slept and rested, leading to the present drinking fountain outside the building structure.

While Saint Peter was given the Keys to the Kingdon and authority over the Church, Saint John was entrusted by Christ with His own mother. In this peaceful, bucolic and humble place, it is easy to gain a deeper insight into the charism of the Beloved Apostle John. It shows how the apostle that Christ loved lived his life in service, contemplation, and community, in union with Mary.

The Community of Saint John is a congregation of priests and professed religious brothers who seek to joyfully live out the Gospel and follow Christ as the beloved apostle Saint John did. Members of the Community of Saint John live simple and joyful lives together in fraternal communities, and uniquely practice both a life of silent contemplation and apostolic service out in the world.

By placing the spirit of the beloved disciple John in the context of the New Evangelization, the Community of Saint John reaches out specifically to young people by providing the milieu for their authentic personal growth and formation in our Catholic Faith.

Is This The ACTUAL Home Where Our Lady & Saint John Lived?

Saint John, “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” - John 13:23

In the Gospel of Saint John's account of the Crucifixion, we read:

Images of Our Lady's House in Ephesus

If you are a man considering a vocation to the priesthood or professed religious life:

By placing the spirit of the beloved disciple John in the context of the New Evangelization, the Community of Saint John reaches out specifically to young people by providing the milieu for their authentic personal growth and formation in our Catholic Faith.

Present In Over 22 Countries, on 5 Continents, the Community of Saint John desires to be for today’s Church what the Apostle John was for Jesus in the Gospels.

To learn more about a vocation with the Community of Saint John, sign up below!