The Basilica della Santa Casa is a Marian shrine in Loreto, Italy. The basilica is known for enshrining the house in which the Blessed Virgin Mary is believed by some Catholics to have lived. Pious legends claim the same house was flown over by angelic beings from Nazareth to Tersatto , then to Recanati, before arriving at the current site.The basilica is also known for enshrining the Madonna and Child image of “Our Lady of Loreto” in relation to the relics held at the site. Pope Benedict XV designated the religious image as patroness of air passengers and auspicious travel on 24 March 1920. Pope Pius XI granted a Canonical Coronation to the venerated image of made of Cedar of Lebanon on 5 September 1922, replacing the original Marian image consumed in fire on 23 February 1921.
