Enlarge the photo (click once and then again) and you will see Mary on the road from Nazareth to Ein Kerem, accompanied by walking and flying angels.
Said to be built over the home of John the Baptist's parents, Elizabeth and Zechariah, the Church of the Visitation stands high up on the hillside of Ein Kerem.
In Luke 1:39-55 the pregnant Mary visited her pregnant cousin Elizabeth and this "visitation" lasted for three months.
When Mary arrived, the unborn John recognized the unborn Jesus and "leaped with joy" in Elizabeth's womb.
Elizabeth exclaimed, "Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!" and Mary sang a hymn of thanksgiving known as the Magnificat:
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Behind the statues of Mary and Elizabeth are over 42 plaques of the Magnificat in different languages.
The modern (1955) church was designed by the prolific and gifted Italian architect Antonio Barluzzi.
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