337. Basilica of Saint Mary Major

On August 5, the Catholic Church annually celebrates the Optional Memorial of the Dedication of the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, Santa Maria Maggiore, one of the four most illustrious churches of Rome, along with St. John Lateran, St. Peter, and St. Paul Outside the Walls, and Christendom’s first Marian shrine for pilgrims.

An annual feast commemorates a miracle of the snowfall that occurred on the site where the Basilica of St. Mary Major now stands.

The Virgin Mary had appeared in a dream to two faithful Roman Christians, as well as to Pope Liberius (352-366), asking that a church be built in her honor on the site where snow would fall on the night of August 5th.

That’s why another name for the basilica is Our Lady of the Snow, Saint Mary of the Snow, and the feast of today is Our Lady of Snows, la Virgen Blanca, in Spanish.

Nowadays, in Rome, during the Pontifical Mass, the traditional shower of flower petals descends from the ceiling of the basilica to commemorate the miraculous snowfall.

Pope Francis’ mortal remains are buried in St. Mary Major.

He was laid to rest near the icon of Mary Salus Populi Romani, translated to "Health or Salvation or Protectress of the Roman People." The image is a deeply revered ancient tableau purported to have been painted by Saint Luke the Evangelist.

Saint Jerome (347-420) is buried at the Basilica, following his death in Bethlehem on September 30, 420 AD.

Jerome was s Christian priest and Doctor of the Church best known for translating most of the Bible into Latin, a seminal work known as the Vulgate.

He is also the patron saint of translators, librarians, archivists, and biblical scholars.

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