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During the month of May, the Church around the world is joining in a daily Rosary for the intention of the end of the pandemic, as well as a specific intention related to the various victims of the virus.
Each day of the month, a different shrine will lead the daily Rosary, according to local practice.
The beginning and the end of the Rosary Marathon (May 1 and May 31) are led by Pope Francis.
See below to follow the list of the Shrines.
Day 4 of the Rosary Marathon brings us to the Basilica of the Annunciation in the Holy Land.
The Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth, in northern Israel, is a modern church built over the remains of the Virgin Mary's childhood home. According to Catholic tradition, it was here that the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and told her that she would conceive the Son of God, Jesus.
According to tradition, Emperor Constantine I commissioned the first church at the site of the Annunciation in about 570, around the time of the founding of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.
Today's Basilica of the Annunciation was completed in 1969, by the Italian architect Giovanni Muzio, in the Italian brutalist style.
In the upper church, the walls are adorned with mosaics of the Virgin Mary from every country with a significant Catholic population.
The Grotto of the Annunciation -- said to be the remains of the Virgin Mary's childhood home -- occupies the lower level of the church.
Get a glimpse of the Basilica of the Annunciation and the Grotto of the Annunciation in the slideshow below:
