House of Mary

This small building is located about 3 mi. south of the site of Ephesus up on a hill that overlooks the site.  It was identified as the House of Mary (mother of Jesus) in 1891 by Father Jung, a local priest from Smyrna.  He searched for the house based upon the visions of a German mystic named Catherine Emmereich between 1818–1824.  Popes Paul VI, John Paul II, and Benedict XVI have visited the House.

There is no early evidence that John brought Mary from Jerusalem to Ephesus.  The earliest evidence about Mary is from Epiphanius (bishop of Salamis, Cyprus, d. 403) who places Mary's life and death in Jerusalem—compare the traditions associated with the Dormition Abby in Jerusalem.