The church is located on a small hill overlooking the Sea of Galilee, the traditional “mount” on which Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount. The current church sits uphill from the ruins of a small Byzantine-era church dating to the late 4th century, which contains a rock-cut cistern beneath it and the remains of a small monastery to its southeast. Part of the original mosaic floor has also been recovered and is now on display in Capernaum.
Christian pilgrims are known to have commemorated this approximate site since at least the 4th century. In her itinerary of the Holy Land, after describing the Church of the Loaves and Fishes, the pilgrim Egeria (ca. 381 CE) writes, “Near there on a mountain is the cave to which the Savior climbed and spoke the Beatitudes.” Both Popes Paul VI and John Paul II celebrated Mass at the church during their pastoral visits to the Holy Land.
