Replica of the Virgin Mary’s House draws Catholic devotees in the Philippines

ALFONSO, Philippines (AP) — The House of the Virgin Mary is a shrine located in Ephesus, Turkey, where the mother of Jesus is believed to have spent her final years. Thousands of miles away, nestled in a field outside Manila, a replica in the Philippines welcomes devotees in Asia’s biggest Catholic nation.

“The idea began as a place of refuge,” said Dennis Paez, the priest who led the project. “This is a place where no questions (are) asked.”

The replica was inaugurated in 2024 in Alfonso, a town in Cavite province about 70 kilometers (45 miles) south of the capital. Since opening, it has hosted Catholic pilgrimages, including celebrations for the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in mid-July. The 67-square-meter (720-square-foot) structure mirrors the exact dimensions, shape and look of every stone at the original site.

According to Catholic tradition, the house in Ephesus is where Mary spent much of her life after Jesus’ crucifixion and before her assumption into heaven. The apostle John is said to have brought her to the region to escape persecution in Jerusalem.

Paez said the replica took about 10 months to complete. Workers of different faiths took part in the construction, something Paez viewed as the Virgin Mary bringing all of her children together.

“The apostolate of this place is to accept people with unconditional positive regard,” added Paez, who is also a psychologist specializing in supporting youth. “There is no therapy here. The therapist is our Mother.”

In the country of about 113 million people, nearly 80% identify as Catholic.

Philippine faithful often refer to the Virgin Mary as the Blessed Mother. Processions honoring her are held regularly throughout the country.

“We are a long-suffering people,” Paez said. “Our wealth is really our faith and our faith is such like that because of the Blessed Mother.”

Religious historian Michael Delos Reyes said that Filipino devotion to the Virgin Mary dates back to the time Spanish colonizers introduced Christianity in the 16th century. However, that devotion has also found expression in more recent moments of the country’s history.

Delos Reyes said that some attributed the 1986 People Power Revolution that led to the ouster of then-President Ferdinand Marcos to the Virgin’s intercession. And in 2013, when the Typhoon Haiyan ravaged Tacloban, devotees looked to the Blessed Mother for hope.

“To Jesus through Mary” is a phrase that reflects the central place Mary holds in Filipino Catholic life.

“Her maternal dimension is what Filipinos find meaningful, as well as her power to intercede on believers’ behalf,” said Deirdre de la Cruz, a professor of history and Southeast Asian studies at the University of Michigan.

Marian iconography and rosaries frequently adorn Filipino cars, public transportation, individual altars and shrines both in urban and rural landscapes, De la Cruz added.

“As someone who is known to provide comfort, Mary is a very familiar figure and someone to whom one can appeal in difficult times,” she said.

Daphne Oseña Paez, who recently visited the replica, said that despite being raised Catholic her devotion was not as strong as it became in adulthood. It began with a trip to Mexico, where she saw the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and it deepened years later after enduring a difficult pregnancy that made her seek refuge in her faith.

“We don’t pray to Mary herself, but Mary intercedes for us,” Oseña Paez said. “In my times of trouble, and I’ve had a lot, I really clung on to the love and comfort of her as a mother.”

Donated Marian icons line the walls inside the replica. At the center stands a statue of Mary modeled after the one in Turkey, alongside a relic said to be from her veil.

Most of the displayed images were donated by art collector and Philippine culture advocate Maritess Pineda. She said her devotion to Mary led her to start a collection that has finally found a home.

Other Filipinos felt drawn to contribute in their own way. Rupert Suarez and his wife had visited the House of the Virgin Mary in Ephesus years earlier. When he learned about plans to build a replica in the Philippines, he joined the the project.

“I usually pray to the Mother,” Suarez said. “It’s so very blessed that we already have this replica built.”

The site has received little public promotion since its inauguration. Yet Father Paez said pilgrims have visited.

“I don’t at all think that it is me bringing them,” Paez said. “It’s The Blessed Mother asking them, inviting them to come.”

Hernández reported from Beijing.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Catholic devotees walk outside the Ephesus House, a replica of the House of the Virgin Mary in Ephesus, Turkey, at Alfonso town, Cavite province, Philippines, on July 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

A Catholic devotee walks outside the Ephesus House, a replica of the House of the Virgin Mary in Ephesus, Turkey, at Alfonso town, Cavite province, Philippines on July 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Visitors pray inside the Ephesus House, a replica of the House of the Virgin Mary in Ephesus, Turkey, at Alfonso town, Cavite province, Philippines on July 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

A Catholic devotee touches a religious icon during her visit at the Ephesus House, a replica of the House of the Virgin Mary in Ephesus, Turkey, at Alfonso town, Cavite province, Philippines on July 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

A Catholic devotee prays beside relics of Mary and other saints during her visit at the Ephesus House, a replica of the House of the Virgin Mary in Ephesus, Turkey, at Alfonso town, Cavite province, Philippines on July 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Catholic priest Father Dennis Paez places a scapular necklace on pilgrims during their visit at the Ephesus House, a replica of the House of the Virgin Mary in Ephesus, Turkey, at Alfonso town, Cavite province, Philippines on July 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Catholic priest Father Dennis Paez sprinkles holy water to pilgrims during their visit at the Ephesus House, a replica of the House of the Virgin Mary in Ephesus, Turkey, at Alfonso town, Cavite province, Philippines on July 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

A relic from the cord clothing of the Virgin Mary inside the Ephesus House, a replica of the House of the Virgin Mary in Ephesus, Turkey, at Alfonso town, Cavite province, Philippines on July 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

A relic from the veil of the Virgin Mary inside the Ephesus House, a replica of the House of the Virgin Mary in Ephesus, Turkey, at Alfonso town, Cavite province, Philippines on July 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

A devotee touches one of the relics of Mary inside the Ephesus House, a replica of the House of the Virgin Mary in Ephesus, Turkey, at Alfonso town, Cavite province, Philippines on July 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Devotees pray inside the Ephesus House, a replica of the House of the Virgin Mary in Ephesus, Turkey, at Alfonso town, Cavite province, Philippines on July 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Catholics touch one of the images of Mary inside the Ephesus House, a replica of the House of the Virgin Mary in Ephesus, Turkey, at Alfonso town, Cavite province, Philippines on July 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

A statue of Mary modeled after the one in Turkey, alongside a relic said to be from her veil inside the Ephesus House, a replica of the House of the Virgin Mary in Ephesus, Turkey, at Alfonso town, Cavite province, Philippines on July 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Visitors pray inside the Ephesus House, a replica of the House of the Virgin Mary in Ephesus, Turkey, at Alfonso town, Cavite province, Philippines on July 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

The Ephesus House, a replica of the House of the Virgin Mary in Ephesus, Turkey, at Alfonso town, Cavite province, Philippines on July 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

The Ephesus House, a replica of the House of the Virgin Mary in Ephesus, Turkey, now stands at Alfonso town, Cavite province, Philippines on July 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

The Ephesus House, a replica of the House of the Virgin Mary in Ephesus, Turkey, now stands at Alfonso town, Cavite province, Philippines on July 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

KYIV (AP) — Laura Loomer, an ardent ally of President Donald Trump with a reputation for incendiary social media commentary, sat down with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday after a dramatic turnaround on the war that could have political reverberations back in Washington.

Loomer had spent years minimizing Russia's invasion of Ukraine and amplifying Russian propaganda to her nearly 2 million followers. This week she had a change of heart.

“Just experienced my first air raid in Ukraine. Sirens blaring. This is everyday for every Ukrainian,” Loomer wrote on X during her visit to the country. “I often said I don’t care. Looking back, that wasn’t very nice of me to say.”

“We need to have moral clarity,” she added Thursday.

It was a stunning reversal for a woman who had spent years criticizing U.S. support for Ukraine's defense, declaring it “a country full of Nazi apologists” — a claim used by Russia to justify its yearslong invasion — and “led by a Jihadi apologist.”

The skepticism of Ukraine has been shared by other major conservative influencers, including former Fox News host Tucker Carlson. The issue became a major point of contention between more traditional Republicans, like former Vice President Mike Pence, and Trump's MAGA base. Vice President JD Vance was among the earliest and most vocal critics of continued U.S. military aid to the country, and he and Trump clashed with Zelenskyy in a heated Oval Office meeting.

It was unclear what had prompted Loomer's trip or how she had arranged the meeting with Zelenskyy, which she plugged as an interview for her Rumble show, “Loomer Unleashed.”

She posted a photo of the two and later a clip from the interview in which she asked Zelenskyy about the Oval Office confrontation and how his relationship with Trump seemed to have improved since then. Zelenskyy credited a brief conversation at the Vatican for the detente — one he called a “historic moment, because we changed the relations during 15, 20 minutes.”

Loomer and the White House did not respond to requests for comment on the trip, but Trump gave his stamp of approval on social media.

“Very good!!!” he wrote on Thursday evening.

The meeting was confirmed earlier by Dmytro Lytvyn, a spokesperson for the president, who said that no Ukrainian government institution had organized the visit. He added that Zelenskyy's office first learned that Loomer was in Ukraine through social media.

“It is really important that @LauraLoomer is in Ukraine and sees things with her own eyes as they are,” Zelenskyy's office had written Tuesday.

“It takes courage to come to Ukraine and not be deterred by Russian propaganda or air raid sirens. Thank you, Laura,” the office added Thursday.

In addition to the meeting with Zelenskyy, Loomer also visited the Dormition Cathedral of Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, one of the country’s most significant religious landmarks, which came under Russian attack last month.

The attack on the monastic complex of golden domes in the heart of Kyiv, which is also known as the Monastery of the Caves, sparked a fire that caused significant interior and exterior damage, according to UNESCO. Zelenskyy had called it Moscow’s “biggest crime yet against Christian culture.”

Russia denied responsibility for the attack, claiming, without offering evidence, that the complex was hit by one of Ukraine’s U.S.-made Patriot air defense missiles — saying that it might have veered off course due to its age.

In a video recorded from inside the church, Loomer accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of hypocrisy by portraying Russia as pro-Christian.

“I just don’t think that you should be allowed to say that you’re protecting Christianity if you’re trying to drone strike Jesus Christ,” she said.

Sergiy Kyslytsya and Tetyana Berezhna, two top Ukrainian officials, were among those who met with Loomer and joined her for the visit.

The meeting comes amid continued hostilities between Russia and Ukraine that have been overshadowed in recent months by the war with Iran.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday at an annual gathering of foreign ministers in Manila that the administration is poised to help end the “senseless war” in Ukraine but acknowledged there was no quick path to a deal.

Colvin reported from New York.

FILE - Right-wing activist Laura Loomer, April 15, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)