Nazareth Travel Recommendations for 2024 (Updated in Apr)

Located in Nazareth, the northern city of Israel, the Church of the Annunciation is the largest Catholic church in the Middle East and the fifth church built on the same site. The remains of the four previous churches remain in Nazareth. One of the most eye-catching buildings. Nazareth became a holy city of Christianity because it was the home of Jesus. There is a site of the Annunciation Cave in the church. When the archangel Gabriel came to Maria, she told her that she would preserve the cave that was conceived by the Holy Spirit. In addition to this special site, the image of the Virgin Mary from all over the world hangs from inside the church and in the long corridor. The Madonna, with its distinctive features and different faces, is full of reflections, reflecting the different understandings of the Virgin in various places. Among them, the Chinese Virgin is the Madonna of the goddess of Guanyin presented by Taiwan.

According to the New Testament Luke, the angel Gabriel came to Nazareth in Israel and relayed the good news of the birth of the Son Jesus to Maria and Joseph. Although it is a barren little place, even the locals do not believe that there will be any good things, but it is the hometown of Jesus. Hometown, there are good memories for everyone, and it is the place where faith is pinned for life.

The Annunciation of the Angels is a favorite theme of Western painters of all ages. The masters such as Da Vinci and Raphael have described them. Now they walk into the Church of the Annunciation and are deeply surprised by the church with such a special style. Nazareth was originally a small town that was inconspicuous, but because the Virgin Mary was pregnant here by the Holy Spirit, Jesus grew up here and became famous. In order to commemorate the good news of Angel Gabriel's report to Mary, people have built a newspaper in the cave of the Annunciation, but after the natural disasters, the church was destroyed many times. Built in 1966, the church is the fifth church built on the same site. The walls of the church are inlaid with images of the Madonna donated by churches from all over the world. The church is divided into two floors, the lower floor is the Baoxi Cave and the upper level is the newly built church. The top of the church was extremely tall and colorful. At that time, I was curious about this shape. After asking the tour guide, I realized that it was a lily that symbolized blooming. Lily is always regarded as the symbol of the Virgin Mary. The lily in front of us has a total of sixteen petals, each of which is engraved with a striking English M, symbolizing Santa Maria.

The Church of St. Joseph

The Church of St. Joseph is located in northern Israel in the city of Nazareth where Jesus grew up, the church is believed to be situated where Christ’s earthly father, Joseph once had his home and carpentry workshop. This would then have become the home of Mary as well following their marriage. The church is also known as the Church of Nutrition and the Church of Joseph’s Carpentry. The location first became recognized as the home of the holy family in the 17th century when texts referred to it as “the house and workshop of Joseph.” The Church of Saint Joseph’s Carpentry is within the same complex as the Basilica of the Annunciation together with the Franciscan convent Terra-Santa. In the courtyard you can see architectural artifacts which were uncovered during excavation. Within the church which now stands at this location are several interesting stained glass windows and paintings depicting scenes involving Joseph. There is the scene of Joseph and Mary’s wedding, Joseph dying in the arms of Jesus and Mary, a scene of Joseph showing Jesus how to work in the carpentry as Mary looks on and The Dream of Joseph. The present-day church was constructed in 1914 on what remained of a Crusader Church and this in turn was built on a series of caves. The caves were probably used for food storage in Biblical times and may have been where the workshop was situated. From the present-day church, there is a stairway going down to a crypt and through a grille in the floor where you can see the caves.