Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore
According to legend, Our Lady showed where this church should be built by a miraculous snowfall on the Esquiline Hill in the heat of August. The feast of Our Lady of the Snows, 5 August, is still kept here with a shower of white petals. The present basilica was built by Pope Sixtus III soon after the Council of Ephesus proclaimed Mary Mother of God in 431. It is the only one of Rome’s four major basilicas that keeps its original early Christian structure.
Its nave is lined with fifth-century mosaics of the Old Testament, among the oldest Christian mosaics in the world. Its triumphal arch shows the childhood of Christ. The coffered ceiling is said to be gilded with the first gold brought from the Americas.
The Borghese Chapel holds the ancient icon of the Virgin, Salus Populi Romani, “Protectress of the Roman People,” which popes have visited before and after their journeys. Beneath the high altar is the relic of the Holy Crib. Pope Francis, who prayed before the icon more than a hundred times, chose to be buried in this basilica, and he was laid to rest here in April 2025.
- Built
- 432–440
- Style
- Early Christian, with Baroque additions
- Where
- Rome, Italy
- Map
- Find it on OpenStreetMap
- Read about
- The Holy Crib