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The Dedication of
the Patriarchal
Basilica of Saint
Mary Major in
Rome
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There are in Rome four patriarchal churches in which,on different feast days, the Pope officiates.
The Basilica of Saint Peter The Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls
The Basilica of Saint John Lateran The Basilica of Saint Mary Major
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The most important
church in the city of
Rome dedicated to Our
Lady is the Basilica of
Saint Mary Major,founded during the reign
of Pope Liberius.
(352-366)
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The church is named as
“Major” because it is
believed to be the
largest churchdedicated to the
Blessed Virgin Mary in
the Western world.
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This feast
commemorates the
miracle of the snowfall
that occurred during
the night of August 4-5in the year 358 on the
site where the basilica
now stands.
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According to tradition,
the Virgin Mary
appeared in a dream totwo faithful Roman
Christians, the patrician
John and his wife, as
well as to Pope
Liberius, asking that a
church be built in her
honor on the site wheresnow would fall on the
night of August 4-5.
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As Our Lady promised, a miraculous fall of snow in the
summer indicated the exact measurements of the church. Within two years, construction was finished and Pope
Liberius consecrated it, thus, the Church earned another
name:
the Basilica Liberiana - “The Liberian Basilica”
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When the Council of Ephesus defined Mary asTheotokos , the God-bearer, in 432 A.D., Pope Sixtus III
(432-440) rebuilt and embellished the basilica.
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From the seventh century
onward, it was referred toas St. Mary the Great orMajor.
The Basilica has also beencalled Our Lady of the
Snows in commemorationof the miraculous snowfall.
The imposing facade wasbuilt by Pope Eugene III
(1145-1153 )
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The Basilica of Saint Mary Major
It stands as a venerable
monument to the
Council of Ephesus
(431), at which thedogma of Mary's divine
Motherhood was
solemnly defined; the
definition of the Counciloccasioned a most
notable increase in the
veneration paid to Mary.
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The Basilica of Saint Mary Major
The basilica is Rome's
"church of the crib," a
kind of Bethlehem
within the Vatican. SaintHelena brought the relics
of the manger in which
Christ was laid after birth
from Jerusalem and wassubsequently enshrined
in this church.
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The Basilica of Saint Mary Major
St. Mary Major isChristendom's first Marianshrine for pilgrims. It setthe precedent for the
countless shrines wherepilgrims gather to honor ourBlessed Mother throughoutthe world. Here wasintroduced an authentic
expression of popular pietythat has been the source ofuntold blessings and gracesfor Christianity in the past asin the present.
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Among its great treasuresis a painting of the
Madonna and Child known
as the Salus PopuliRomani , the Protectress ofthe People of Rome, which
is attributed to St. Luke.
This image had beenbrought back from the
Holy Land by St. Helena,the mother of the Emperor
Constantine, who alsolocated the True Cross andother Relics of the Passion
in Jerusalem.