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Ein Karem
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This small village, a western suburb of Jerusalem since 1961, is the biblical Beit Hakerem, ((Fountain of the Vineyard. Inhabited by Arabs, it was abandoned in 1948 and resettled by Jewish immigrants in the 1950s. This was the scene of the Visitation, when Mary went to see her cousin 'Elizabeth, who greeted the future mother of Jesus with the words, Blessed art thou among women>>. Mary responded with the << Magnificat a song of praise to the Lord, inscribed in the Church of the Visitation, built in 1939 by Antonio Barluzzi.
Ein Karem. is the birthplace of St. John the Baptist. A fifthcentury Franciscan monastery dedicated to him was built on the traditional site of the home of his parents, Elizabeth and Zachary. It was used as a stable by the Arabs but later restored. In the crypt is the Grotto of Benedictus, the presumed birthplace of John the Baptist. A marble star in front of the altar recalls the event with these words: << Hic precursor Domini natus est >>.
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