unless otherwise stated.
Greater-Double.
White Vestments.
The Piazza Esquilino with the
Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major
(The Church of Our Lady of the Snow).
Italiano: Basilica Papale di Santa Maria Maggiore.
Latin: Basilica Sanctae Mariae Maioris.
The Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore is the largest Church in Rome
dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Author: Sixtus.
Photo: March 2006.
In the Roman Catholic Calendar of Saints, it has the rank of Optional Memorial, and, in the General Roman Calendar of 1962, it is a Third-Class Feast. It commemorates the Dedication of the restored Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore by Pope Sixtus III, just after the First Council of Ephesus.
This Major Basilica, located on the summit of the Esquiline Hill in Rome, is called the Basilica of Saint Mary Major (Latin: Basilica Santa Mariæ Majoris) because it is the largest Church in Rome dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The Church was originally built during the Pontificate of Pope Liberius, and is thus sometimes known as the "Basilica Liberii" or "Basilica Liberiana".
Deutsch: Gründung von Santa Maria Maggiore.
English: Foundation of Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica.
Italiano: Fondazione della basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore.
Artist: Masolino da Panicale (1383–1440).
Deutsch: 1. Drittel 15. Jh.
English: First third of 15th-Century.
Current location: Galleria Nazionale di Capodimonte, Naples, Italy.
Source/Photographer: The Yorck Project: 10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei. DVD-ROM, 2002.
ISBN 3936122202. Distributed by DIRECTMEDIA Publishing GmbH.
Permission: [1].
(Wikimedia Commons)
It thus appears in the Tridentine Calendar for celebration as a Double. In Pope Clement VIII's Missal of 1604, it was given the newly invented rank of Greater Double. In Pope John XIII's classification, it became a Third-Class Feast. This 1960 Calendar, included in the 1962 edition of the Roman Missal, is the Calendar whose continued use privately and, under certain conditions, publicly, is authorised by the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum. Nine years later, in 1969, the celebration became an Optional Memorial.
Until 1969, the Feast was known as Dedicatio Sanctæ Mariæ ad Nives (Dedication of the Church of Our Lady of the Snow), a name that had become popular for the Basilica in the 14th-Century, in connection with a legend about its origin that the Catholic Encyclopedia summarises: "During the Pontificate of Liberius, the Roman patrician, John, and his wife, who were without heirs, made a vow to donate their possessions to the Virgin Mary.
They prayed that she might make known to them how they were to dispose of their property in her honour. On 5 August, at the height of the Roman Summer, snow fell during the night on the summit of the Esquiline Hill. In obedience to a vision of the Virgin Mary, which they had the same night, the couple built a Basilica in honour of Mary on the very spot which was covered with snow.
No Catholic Church can be honoured with the title of Basilica, unless by apostolic grant or from immemorial custom. Saint Mary Major is one of the only four Basilicas that today hold the title of Major Basilica. The other three are Saint John Lateran, Saint Peter and Saint Paul outside the Walls. (The title of Major Basilica was once used more widely, being attached, for instance, to the Basilica of Saint Mary of the Angels in Assisi.) All the other Catholic Churches that, either by grant of the Pope or by immemorial custom, hold the title of Basilica are Minor Basilicas.
Until 2006, the four Major Basilicas, together with the Basilica of Saint Lawrence outside the Walls, were referred to as the five "Patriarchal Basilicas" of Rome, associated with the five ancient Patriarchal Sees of Christendom (see Pentarchy). Saint Mary Major was associated with the Patriarchate of Antioch. In the same year, the title of "Patriarchal" was also removed from the Basilica of Saint Francis in Assisi.
The former five Patriarchal Basilicas, with the Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem and San Sebastiano fuori le mura, formed the traditional Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome, which are visited by pilgrims to Rome, following a 20 kilometres (12 miles) itinerary, established by Saint Philip Neri on 25 February 1552, especially when seeking the plenary indulgence in Holy Years. For the Great Jubilee of 2000, Pope John Paul II replaced Saint Sebastian's Church with the Shrine of Our Lady of Divine Love.
They prayed that she might make known to them how they were to dispose of their property in her honour. On 5 August, at the height of the Roman Summer, snow fell during the night on the summit of the Esquiline Hill. In obedience to a vision of the Virgin Mary, which they had the same night, the couple built a Basilica in honour of Mary on the very spot which was covered with snow.
English: Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, Vatican, located in Rome, Lazio, Italy.
Français: Basilique Sainte-Marie-Majeure, Vatican, située à Rome, Latium, Italie.
Photo: 16 September 2010.
Source: Own work.
Author: Tango7174.
(Wikimedia Commons)
Until 2006, the four Major Basilicas, together with the Basilica of Saint Lawrence outside the Walls, were referred to as the five "Patriarchal Basilicas" of Rome, associated with the five ancient Patriarchal Sees of Christendom (see Pentarchy). Saint Mary Major was associated with the Patriarchate of Antioch. In the same year, the title of "Patriarchal" was also removed from the Basilica of Saint Francis in Assisi.
The former five Patriarchal Basilicas, with the Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem and San Sebastiano fuori le mura, formed the traditional Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome, which are visited by pilgrims to Rome, following a 20 kilometres (12 miles) itinerary, established by Saint Philip Neri on 25 February 1552, especially when seeking the plenary indulgence in Holy Years. For the Great Jubilee of 2000, Pope John Paul II replaced Saint Sebastian's Church with the Shrine of Our Lady of Divine Love.
