Recent archaeological research is shedding new light on an ancient convent in Nazareth that a U.K. archaeologist believes is the childhood home of Jesus.

A Fox News article by James Rogers discussed this research in light of the new book, The Sisters of Nazareth Convent (Routledge 2020), by Professor Ken Dark of the University of Reading.

According to Dark, the area underneath the Sisters of Nazareth Convent might be the home that sheltered Jesus, Mary, Joseph, and their family members.

Professor Dark is the latest researcher to analyze the ruins underneath the convent. Excavations started in the 1880s and continued until the 1930s.

Between 1936 and 1964, Henri Senès, a Jesuit priest and former architect based in the Pontifical Biblical Institute at Jerusalem, made details drawings of his findings, but he never published any of his material.

Professor Dark told the Jerusalem Post that he did not excavate at the Sisters of Nazareth site – “I did a new survey of the site, a study of the archives and objects from decades of previous excavations.”

To be clear, Professor Dark is not saying that this is the definitive childhood home of Jesus. He is, however, claiming that the ruins underneath the convent provide significant proof that it is.

As Professor Dark told CBS News (as related by the Jerusalem Post): “[It’s] by no means a conclusive case. On the one hand, we can put forward a totally plausible case that this was Jesus’s childhood home. But on the other hand, actually proving that is beyond the scope of the evidence. It’s debatable whether it would ever be possible to prove that.”

It seems like the Sisters of Nazareth Convent will see a spike in tourists and pilgrims in the years ahead. Would you like to visit?

I sure would.