Rome Newsroom, Dec 10, 2020 / 14:00 pm
On the vigil of the Dec. 10 feast of Our Lady of Loreto, uniformed air force pilots wearing face masks carried a large wooden statue of the Virgin Mary in an outdoor procession in Loreto, illuminated by candles and Christmas lights.
Franciscan friars and a few local Catholics participated, reciting the Litany of Loreto as the procession passed, while more than 10,000 others tuned in via the livestream connection on YouTube.
This was just one part of the three-day celebration at the Holy House of Loreto in the Marche region of central Italy during the shrine's extended Jubilee Year.
The festivities kicked off Dec. 8, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, a national holiday in Italy and of particular importance to Loreto, as tradition holds that the Holy House is made of parts of the walls of the home in which the Virgin Mary was born and raised.