Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1896-12-27
THE HOUSE OF THE VIRGIN.
A Discovery By LaariSt Fathers
Near EpheSuS.
Ruins of a Building That Answers
the Description Given by the
German Mystic, Catherine En-
merich, of the House Where Mary
Spent Her Last Years.

washington. December 2s-The author
tiles OF the Roman Catholic University
here have been informed that the fathers
of the Order Of Lazarists have discovered
the house in which the Virgin Mary lived
while i'm Ephesus. The discovery was
made by Father Paulain. superior Of the
I.azarist mission of Ephesus. the head
quarters of which are az Smyrna. The
missionaries work i'm all the territory
about the ruins of Ephesus, on the site of
which are now merely few Turkish VII
lares. The order is French one.
It appears that Father Paulain made the
discover. through reading The Life of the
HOLY VIRGIN. bv Catherine Emmerich.
the German mystic who died in the carry
part of this century after having excited
controversies 10y her accounts Of visions
and OF miraculous experiences. Father
Pauaiu found the book I'm the library OF
the mission nc Smyrna and tossed II on
the floor expecting that IL would be-
thrown away. because its orthodoxy was
SUSPECTED. A few days after Father Pau
lain had treated the book so contemptuous-
Isl he found it suu lying on the floor ana
picked it up 10 see what II contained
His attention was attracted TO the chap
ter which told of the declining years OF
the Virgin and how she passed them In Il
house built for her by ST. John the Apostle
Catherine Emmerich professed 10 have
been inspired when she wrote.
"This house" the account said. ia
about eight miles from Ephesus, on q
mountain which is reached by narrow
mathis which are 10 the south of Ephesus.
From the summit one sees Ephesus on the
one side. the sea on the other the sea be-
ing nearer the hin than It IS TO Ephesus-
Father Paulain thought that as Gather
inc Emmerich had never visited EpheSuS
this description was very accurate one.
The book gave a detailed description OF the
plan of the house. and even Of its fur
rirure To said that the house was square
and fin the rear had a round or octagonal
addition. The site of the house was near
and Father Paulain determined 20 inves-
rfrate the story. He organized an eNpe-
dition to search for the house. II con-
sisted OF Father Paulain. Prof Jung. pro-
feesor Of mathematics of the College of
SMYRNA. % servant q railroad employe.
and % negro Mursulman. The only hill
that fitted the description was the Bulbul
Dag or Hu of the Nightingale. From
SMYRNA the party proceeded TO Aya-Sou-
lock- one of the villages now occupying
the size OF Ephesus. From here they left
for the hiI The first day out they met
81 CAPTAIN of gendarmcs named Andrea
who informed them that there was an old
tradition current among the people Of that
locality THAT great lady" had died near
bv many centuries ago. and on August 18th
@ els. .r..r,
rbe habit of making pilgrimages to part
of the Bulbul Dag which they called the
Pauaghia Capouu or Gate Of the Virgin.
So. somewhat encouraged, She party
pressed on. on the second day they ascend
cd the Bulbul Dag. and on the third day
reached it's summit. Here they found "a
pIateau covered with O. dense growth Of
fr oak. laurel and olive trees. Being ex-
hauetcd they wandered aimlessly about
until they saw some women working in
a tobacco field. They asked them for wa
tor. and were directed to- a clump of trees
near by. Here. 90 their surprise. they
found the ruins of a stone house similar
.n form 90 the one described by Catherine
Eumerich They looked about them and
ON one side they saw the sea, nearer 10
them than Ephesus. the ruins of which
was ON the other side. The house. accord
iur to Catherine was divided into three
parts The central part was again di-
vijtd into three parts Of which the last
was samicircuiar This served as an ora
tory for the Virgin Mary. on the left was
the vestiary. which is now fallen into ruins
and ON the right was the bedroom. i'm
which was the bed. q plank fixed about
foot and q half from the ground. The
house is now preceded by a sort of square
vcsttbule. which is known TO have been
erected several centuries after Christ.
The expedition returned to Smyrna with
the news Of their discovery and Mgr. Til
moaf Archbishop of Smyrna, made an eX-
animation o. Che house and compared it
with the description i'm the book, and he
showed chat but for the ruinOus condition
of tine house &c was exactly like the one
described in the book. Since then students
from the school Of Athens have visited the
place. and they say that the ruins are
like those Of the gymnasium OF Athens, a
Roman building of the time OF Christ.
This of course does not completely es-
tlrHSh the identity of the house, as the
place where the vircin Mary dwclt after
tho Cwcifyion OF Christ has been in dis
pute for centuries Tho last mention Of
her in the Eble is that she remaiasflhu
au upper chamber with the Apostles after
tho Ascension. 81. John had charge Of her
and it is believed that no went to EphesUS.
and &C. is supposed that ne died there.
-rTTUVuO IN 0JADT VCTON