The church of Evanghelismos tis Theotoku is located on the Cycladic island of Tinos and is considered a holy site for Christians. It was built on the top of a hill, on the same site where the icon of the Virgin Mary was found, after a vision of the nun Pelagia. Thousands of pilgrims visit the shrine every year.In 1835, a Royal Decree declared it a Pilgrimage for all Orthodox, while Catholics called it the Lourdes of the Aegean because of its ideal affinity with the French Sanctuary of the Pyrenees: it speaks of penance, conversion, reconciliation, trust and hope in the intercession of the Virgin Mary for the many afflicted and sick in body and soul.
In 1972, another decree defined Tinos as a Holy Island because of the value of the miraculous icon Panagia Evangelístria.
