Via Magnificat, Ein Karem

The Church of the Visitation in the Ein Kerem neighborhood of Jerusalem is a Catholic church that is located up a mountain which offers wonderful view of the valley and the surrounding wooded hills. It is named in honor of the visit paid by Mary, Jesus’ mother, to the house of her relative Elizabeth, John the Baptist’s mother. According to Christian tradition this is the site of the home of Zechariah and Elizabeth, John the Baptist’s parents. From the ancient Byzantine church a cave survived, in which, according to Christian tradition, Elizabeth hid her son, John the Baptist, during King Herod’s Massacre of the Innocents in which Herod had all of Bethlehem’s children of two years of age and younger killed. Its facade faces the courtyard and features a large mosaic which depicts the Visitation. The modern church includes a bell tower and it is decorated with huge murals which describe various scenes from the New Testament.

DID YOU KNOW? In the courtyard there are ceramic tiles bearing verses from Mary’s Magnificat in 47 different languages.