Topic:  What is the house of gold?

Source of this posting: Moderator response

Date originally posted: May 17, 2004

Moderator who originally posted this source: Father John

Question:  I see a title in a litany for the Blessed Mother that refers to her as House of Gold. Where and when did this title originate and what exactly does it mean?

Answer: 

Dear Diana,

From what I have been able to discover, the title of Mary as the “House of Gold” is a line in the Litany of Loreto, referring to Loreto, Italy, to where supposedly the original birth house of Our Blessed Mother was miraculously moved from Palestine by angels in 1294. That’s the legend! Hey, a couple of strong angels can easily carry a house!

The Litany of Loreto was composed in the Middle Ages sometime and approved by Pope Sixtus V in 1587.

Mary is honored as “House of Gold” in reference to Solomon’s Temple in the Book of Kings where everything was covered with gold. This temple build by Solomon could have been called a “house of gold”, but Mary as the Mother of God is more fittingly called the “House of Gold” as she houses the Son of God within her body. From Mary, as the House of Gold, we receive countless riches more precious than all the gold in the world.