Vienna, Paulaner Church

A 17th century “copy” of Our Lady of Loreto in the Paulaner Church, in the Paulanergasse 6, 1040 Vienna, brought from Loreto, Italy.

The House of Habsburg, which held the throne of the Holy Roman Empire from 1438 – 1740 and ruled Austria till 1918, spread the Loreto cult all over its empire. This was part of the efforts to stem the tide of Protestantism with a Counter-reformation. Loreto, with its Holy House of Mary, where the annunciation of Christ’s birth is said to have taken place, became a central piece of the Counter-reformation. The Marian litany of Loreto and more or less exact copies of the Holy House with its Black Madonna spread all over Europe. The German Wikipedia article on “ Loretokapelle” lists 16 Loreto chapels in Austria, 40 in Germany, etc. There used to be many more in Austria, but as times changed, quite a few of the Black Madonna chapels were transformed into different kinds of chapels.