Mali Bokolj - Church of Our Lady of Loreto

On the outskirts of the village of Banj there is a hill called Mali Bokolj (174 m altitude).

In 1935, a little church was built on the top of the hill dedicated to Our Lady of Loreto. A road from Banj through the villages of Pudarica and Hrabrove will take you to the foot of the hill, and then you have to walk up a stone path, on which the Stations of the Cross are installed, all the way to the top.

The whole project of building the church at the top of Mali Bokolj hill was initiated by the long-time pastor of Banj, Ante Peroš (1872 – 1945). He was a pastor at Banj for 43 years, and therefore the local people dedicated a plaque to his memory which was mounted next to the church in 2015. The Church of Our Lady of Loreto was built with great efforts of the people of Banj and it was Peroš’s votive church. It was built on a small plateau at the top of the hill with several access steps leading to the entrance under the massive low bell tower. The location known as “Our Lady’s Footsteps”, found by fishermen and workers walking up the hill, marks beginning of the Stations of the Cross. The people of Banj make pilgrimage from Gospina vrata to Our Lady of Bokolj, often even barefoot, on the feast of Our Lady of Loreto on 10 May, as well as on other feast days dedicated to Mary.

The top of Mali Bokolj offers beautiful vistas of the Pašman channel, the Kornati islands, the islands of Žut and Sit that will make your heart melt. This is a place that lives by combining the nature, history and people.